LAHORE: In an attempt to garner the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s numerical support for the planned and highly anticipated Lahore public meeting, former president Arif Alvi met Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday, two days before.
However, according to a Jamaat insider, neither the Jamaat nor the former president specifically requested it. All parties are aware of the bigger political picture, though, and how crucial the public meeting is to the PTI and its leader.
During the meeting at Mansoora, both sides claimed to have spent a significant amount of time discussing the government’s proposed constitutional package and the state of politics. Later, while the media waited outside, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman vehemently rejected the proposed amendment and urged all opposition parties to band together and follow suit.
He criticized the way the administration handled the process, saying that the people does not give the government the authority to make such important decisions and that now is not the right time for such changes.
He added that over half of the assembly’s current members would probably lose their seats if a judicial inquiry looked into election tampering. He claimed that, in light of the impending appointment of a new chief justice, the administration was attempting to instigate a fresh constitutional crisis through dubious strategies pertaining to the age and makeup of Supreme Court justices.
Rehman emphasized that the JI and PTI would continue to work together in the future and that they had been in communication on issues of shared interest.
He emphasized that all political parties have the right to organize nonviolent protests and voiced concern about the present political environment, which is restricting democratic liberties.
Rehman emphasized that upholding the Constitution is necessary for the nation to progress.
He emphasized that the only way to resume the country’s progress is for all institutions to function within the parameters established by the Constitution.
Dr. Alvi expressed his displeasure with the government’s activities, saying that they were unacceptable and that they were trying to “bury the Constitution” through modifications.
Noting that the PTI also holds same position, he commended the JI for its principled stand on the matter.
According to Dr. Alvi, given the state of law and order in KP and Balochistan as well as the unstable economic status of the nation, now is not the time to do more harm to the Constitution.
As it did lately in Bangladesh, he called the Jamaat to assume its proper role in the current political turmoil.
