Political Setup Established by Undermining Public Mandate Is Unacceptable, Power Must Be Handed to Genuine Representatives: Maulana Abdul Wasay

QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Balochistan Provincial Chief Senator Maulana Abdul Wasay and General Secretary Maulana Agha Mahmood Shah have said the party will not abandon its principled position for political expediency or temporary gains.

In a joint statement, they said JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had made it clear that the current political setup, which they alleged was established by undermining the public mandate, was a stain on democracy and an insult to the people’s right to govern themselves.

They said such a political arrangement would not be accepted under any circumstances. According to them, the only way to pull the country out of the current political crisis was to hold transparent, free, impartial elections based on the genuine will of the people and hand over power to their true representatives.

The JUI leaders said using force, intimidation, influence and money to suppress the genuine voice of the people and hold elected institutions hostage amounted to weakening the foundations of the democratic system.

They warned that if the alleged violation of the public mandate and disregard for democratic principles continued, JUI would exercise its constitutional and democratic rights and launch a strong public movement.

Agha Mahmood Shah said that if the people came out with their genuine political strength, the “halls of artificial political power” would be shaken.

Maulana Abdul Wasay and Agha Mahmood Shah said every attempt to politically sideline JUI would fail, stressing that the party’s struggle was not merely a battle for power but an effort to uphold the Constitution and parliamentary democracy, protect the people’s right to rule, safeguard Islamic values and defend national sovereignty.

They said JUI would strongly resist any attempt to make Pakistan subservient to an external agenda or undemocratic intervention or to weaken the country’s Islamic identity.

The leaders stressed that JUI believed in constitutional and democratic struggle rather than confrontation. However, they said the party would not remain silent over what they described as contempt for the public mandate and violations of democratic rights.

They reaffirmed that JUI would continue to play an active role on every constitutional and political forum to protect its political and democratic rights.