PESHAWAR: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday directed its district chapters to hold street protests on Nov 15 against the ongoing drive against encroachments and ‘propaganda’ against the party and its leadership.
Addressing a presser at the party’s provincial headquarters here after a meeting of the JUI-F KP executive council, the party’s provincial emir, Senator Maulana Attaur Rahman, said the meeting discussed ‘baseless and fake propaganda’ against the party and its leaders, actions being taken in the name of removing encroachments and party chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman’sstand on mineral reserves.
He said it appeared that the emergency had been imposed in the province not to eliminate terrorism but to remove encroachments.
Mr Atta asked the current provincial government to focus on its mandate of eliminating terrorism instead of targeting public properties across the province in the name of removing encroachments.
He said that if encroachment removal was the government’s only objective, there had been no need to impose governor’s rule and emergency in the province.
The JUI-F KP emir said the crackdown on encroachments amounted to an operation against the province’s peaceful people, who were earning livelihoods through businesses.
He said the party’s executive council had also expressed concern over the actions taken in the name of removing encroachments across the province, especially in Peshawar, including the demolition of legalshops, plazas, houses and mosques.
The council also expressed complete solidarity with the trader community and affected shopkeepers.
Mr Atta said the forum insisted that constructions on government land fell under the category of encroachments.
He said people had the right to know the justification for demolishing plazas and houses without serving notices despite the owners having obtained noobjection certificates and approval of building plans from government institutions.
The emir said that the government should assure people that compensation would be paid for properties it acquired under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act.
He also said the party had expressed concern over ‘irresponsible’ statements by the KP governor and the adviser on information regarding the party’s Mufti Mahmood Markaz.
Mr Atta said that the complex, spread over four kanals,had been constructed after the building plans were approved by the Peshawar Development Authority.
He added that the administration had closed the service road in front of the building due to security reasons.
The JUI-F leader said the executive council fully endorsed Maulana Fazl’s stand on mineral resources.
He added that the province’s mineral resources were being transported through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route after the closure of roads.
‘The nation should be informed about the agreements made with any country and that the party’s KP chapter stands fully with the party chief on this stance,’ he said.
Mr Atta said that the council had also decided to launch an awareness campaign on the issue. He said protest demonstrations would be held in all districts of the province on Sunday (Nov 15).
He said the party’s generalcouncil had condemned ‘onesided propaganda, fake statements and immoral videos’ released against the JUI-F chief and other leaders.
‘Instead of providing reasoned and factual answers to Maulana Fazl’s questions, the federal government had resorted to cheap t actics.
The government’s paid TikTokers can’t divert the JUI-F from its mission through unethical acts and cheap tactics,’ he said.
Regarding the merged tribal districts, Mr Atta said the government was trying to reverse the Fata-KP merger.
He, however, said the party believed that both the merger and any decision to reverse it should be made in accordance with the wishes of the people instead of being imposed on them.
Mr Atta said the meeting also expressed concern over the arrest of JUI-F workers in different parts of the country and notices issued by various institutions.