QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday ruled out joining the Balochistan government for now and criticised Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi over his remarks on the creation of new provinces. He called for a national dialogue to address the country’s political and security crises.
Speaking at a press conference here, Fazl said the security situation in Balochistan has deteriorated significantly, with armed groups becoming increasingly active and people feeling unsafe both in their homes and while travelling. He said Pakistan lacked a comprehensive national policy capable of addressing the country’s multiple crises, stressing that the use of force alone could not resolve political and security issues.
Questioning Mohsin Naqvi’s recent statement on new provinces, the JUIF chief said the interior minister should clarify whether he had spoken in his personal capacity or on behalf of the federal government. He asked whether Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been consulted before the statement and urged the prime minister to clarify the government’s position. “If the existing system has failed, Mohsin Naqvi should either ask the government to resign or resign himself,” Fazl said, adding that “one cannot continue holding office while making such sweeping statements”.
He said the JUIF was not opposed in principle to the creation of new provinces but questioned whether the current political and economic situation was appropriate for such a move. He warned that creating provinces without broad consultation and proper planning could create further divisions, recalling that he had opposed the merger of former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without adequate public consultation.
“Pakistan is not a cake that can simply be divided with a knife,” he remarked, arguing that debates over new provinces were diverting public attention from pressing issues such as inflation, insecurity and governance.
On the political situation in Balochistan, he confirmed that the JUIF had decided not to become part of the provincial government. He said Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti had met the party leadership, but no decision had been made to join the ruling coalition. Referring to reports of a proposed jirga in Quetta, he said Mahmood Khan Achakzai, as leader of the opposition in National Assembly, should convene an all-parties conference (APC) at the national level rather than limiting consultations to regional or ethnic forums. If that did not happen, he said, the JUIF would itself organise a nationwide APC to formulate a consensus-based policy on the country’s challenges.
He criticised what he described as the weakening of democratic institutions, saying that parliament’s authority had been undermined and governments had often been formed through engineered political processes rather than the people’s mandate. He called for the country to be governed strictly in accordance with the Constitution, restoration of public confidence and genuinely representative governments elected through the people’s will.
Claiming that the JUIF currently possessed the country’s strongest street power, he said the party’s public gatherings reflected widespread public support. Addressing young people, he urged them not to launch emotional protest movements but instead follow experienced political leadership capable of making informed decisions during difficult times.
