JUI-F chief says attack on Malala was a ‘drama’

JUI-F chief Fazlul Rehman Accuses government of being a ‘slave’ to US diktats.
KARAK: Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday accused the government of being a slave to US approval for its internal, external and economic policies.
Addressing the ‘Islam Zindabad Conference’ in Karak, Fazl said the attack on teenage activist Malala Yousafzai was a “drama” and that there was no sign of an injury after the bandage on her head was removed.

The JUI-F chief said he sympathised with the child activist as “raising a hand” on women is forbidden in Islam, but there were other “daughters of the nation like Aafia Siddiqui” who also harboured a great desire to promote education in the country.
“Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced by a US court to 86 years of imprisonment even though they have no proof of her having links with al Qaeda.”
Fazl said Malala was not the only one to have faced injustice. “Lots of women are killed or injured in US drone strikes. On average, 15 to 20 people are killed in Karachi every day.”
Fazl said his party did not believe in an armed struggle for the implementation of Shariah (Islamic law). “JUI-F believes in a political and democratic struggle, but we have the right to ask who is responsible for this war on terror in Pakistan.”
Talking about the recent cases surfacing against politicians, Fazl said his party had not been implicated in the Asghar Khan case.
“Not a single member of the party has benefitted from the National Reconciliation Ordinance,” he added.
Fazl also lashed out at the Awami National Party (ANP) terming it “the most corrupt party in the history of the province (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa).”
Earlier, Javaid Khattak, Noor Islam, Yousaf Khan and others announced their decision to join JUI-F.