Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has called for a discussion on the creation of new provinces or administrative units, saying political parties should play their role in taking a decision in line with prevailing circumstances.
Addressing a Khatm-e-Nabuwat (PBUH) conference on Monday, Fazlur Rehman said his party was not opposed to the creation of new provinces.
“We are not against the creation of provinces. The decision should be made after considering the time and circumstances,” he said, urging political parties to contribute to the debate.\The JUI-F chief criticised major political parties for their positions on the issue, saying the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) mainly talks about Sindh, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) remains silent on the matter.
Fazlur Rehman also expressed concern over divisions within society, saying efforts to build a unified nation had remained unsuccessful despite the creation of Pakistan on the basis of the two-nation theory.
He said linguistic differences had contributed to unrest in the country, while Pakistan had also become heavily dependent on foreign loans.
“Colonialism has ended, but international institutions today decide our country’s affairs,” Fazlur Rehman said, adding that dependence on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) had limited Pakistan’s economic independence.
He argued that allowing international institutions to determine the country’s economic policies amounted to a form of colonialism.
The JUI-F chief stressed that peace and order were essential for strengthening the country and expressed concern over divisions within the Muslim Ummah.
He said his party wanted to ensure a dignified life for Pakistan’s poor and rejected what he described as elite and oppressive politics.
“The politics of imposing power will not work,” he said, adding that movements seeking to undermine the blasphemy law would have to be thwarted.
