KARACHI(National Times)- Amid growing speculation over the possibility of the 28th Amendment, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman placed President Asif Ali Zardari in a difficult position on Monday, urging him to protect the 18th Amendment with the same determination he had shown in helping bring it into existence in 2010 while holding the same office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a question about his thoughts on the proposed 28th Amendment while answering journalists\u2019 queries after addressing a Meet the Press organised by the Karachi Press Club, the JUI-F chief said that the government had not come up with any position and everything remained blurred on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he sounded very clear about the 18th Amendment, calling it \u201can achievement of the political parties\u201d after so much effort under the PPP-led coalition government in 2010, restoring the \u201csupremacy of the Constitution\u201d after it had suffered too many \u201cblows\u201d under different military rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He accused the current government of planning new legislation only to strengthen the military establishment and deepen its influence in the country\u2019s system, while the ruling parties were neither serious about maintaining law and order nor improving the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was the PPP\u2019s government and Asif Ali Zardari was the president. Many people don\u2019t know that President Zardari awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz to everyone involved in it. I was the only one who refused to accept it. Now, he\u2019s president again and the 18th Amendment is under the radar. I ask him and invite him on behalf of my party to come forward and save the 18th Amendment for which his party takes credit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Transparent polls\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, in this situation, we all see that the country is facing serious political, economic and security crises while the ruling authorities are not showing seriousness in solving public problems, improving law and order, or strengthening the economy,\u201d he said while demanding fresh, free, fair and transparent elections so that the \u201creal representatives\u201d of the people could come forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He referred to the security situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing the current state of affairs in the two provinces as nothing less than a \u201crebellion\u201d. On the economic front, he maintained that every second Pakistani was living below the poverty line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe country has faced challenges for decades but we believe that the last two elections [in 2018 and 2024] have caused such deep damage that it may take years for the country to recover from these crises. We have already announced a nationwide protest on May 22 to denounce government policies and growing inflation. We cannot remain silent spectators to the situation. We will play our role peacefully within the constitutional and legal framework.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To a question about the war in the region and the country\u2019s strained relations with Afghanistan, the JUI-F chief replied that Pakistan\u2019s role in the Middle East and recent conflicts could not be more than that of a mediator and it was already playing that role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs far as Afghanistan is concerned, the two countries are important for each other despite disagreements on several issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt times, I am unable to understand how quickly we change our positions. I have demanded earlier and I do again that an in-camera session of parliament must be called for a briefing on our foreign affairs. We should know why our diplomatic efforts have failed and why our relations with Afghanistan have come to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KARACHI(National Times)- Amid growing speculation over the possibility of the 28th Amendment, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman placed President Asif Ali Zardari in a difficult position on Monday, urging him to protect the 18th Amendment with the same determination he had shown in helping bring it into existence in 2010 while holding the same office. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n