Fazlur Rehman retracts statement accusing military of toppling Imran Khan govt

Islamabad: A leading Pakistan cleric on Friday partially retracted his statement in which he had accused the top military leaders of toppling the government of former prime minister Imran Khan in April 2022 through a no-confidence vote.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had claimed during a Samaa TV talk show on Thursday night that the "former army chief Gen (rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa toppled the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) government."

Recalling the no-confidence motion against the PTI founder, Rehman said: "The PPP was moving the no-confidence motion against the PTI. Gen Bajwa and Faiz Hameed were in touch with us at the time of no-confidence motion." "Gen Bajwa, Faiz Hameed asked all parties to do this [bringing a vote of no-confidence motion],” he asserted.

The channel reported on its website that Rahman told the host Nadeem Malik in response to a question: "Someone should stand up to the establishment and say it is doing wrong".

"The protest will continue until things are settled, as the establishment has nothing to do with politics. As a result of this protest, there will be a revolution," Rehman maintained.

Rehman said, "The state institutions are respectable, but why come into politics?".

"If the establishment thinks that the elections were transparent, then the narrative in line with the May 9 mayhem is buried," Rehman added.

However, after criticism and doubts about the veracity of his claim, the JUI-F chief issued a clarification by saying that he named former ISI chief Hameed by mistake.

However, he maintained his stance on General (retd) Bajwa and Gen (retd) Faiz's alleged involvement in election rigging during the 2018 elections.

"This matter should be consigned to history instead of being discussed more," he asserted.

"I have told everything and that is enough. We wanted to remove the PTI government through a no-confidence motion,” he said, adding that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) leaders used to have daily meetings.

“General Bajwa has had many meetings with me alone," he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party's Faisal Karim Kundi said that the JUI-F chief had benefited the most from the no-confidence vote against the then premier Khan, adding that Fazl could have stopped the no-confidence move as he was the head of the PDM.

Replying to Fazl's allegation that his party's mandate was stolen, Kundi said, "If it was stolen, then who was it given to? To the same delegation who visited him yesterday”.

Fazl in his TV interview had also talked about the possibility of talks with PTI. "There is a difference of mind with the PTI that can be resolved," he had said.

He had also criticized the PML-N for announcing to form the government. “The present parliament has no future, as the decisions and policies in the parliament will come from somewhere else," Rehman said.

Rehman had traditionally been close to the establishment but had become weary after suffering a devastating defeat in the elections.

His opponents allege that being a seasoned politician, Rehman may be in search of some role in the future government by attacking the army.