ISLAMABAD – Speaking to the media at the Convention Centre here, Ameer of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said he has previously helped reduce tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and believes he can play that role again.
Maulana Fazl said contacts have been made with Afghan leadership, adding that Kabul wishes to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue and mutual understanding. “There has been a Pakistan-Afghanistan ceasefire; now there should be a halt to hostile rhetoric as well,” he said, urging citizens and social media users in both countries to cool tempers rather than stoke tensions.
Responding to remarks by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Kashmir, he urged Pakistan to reflect on its own role over the Kashmir issue instead of creating an uproar. “Pakistan’s changing policies on Kashmir are already on public record. We must ask: does Pakistan seek a Kashmir solution in the spirit of the United Nations resolutions, and what progress has been made toward that goal?” he said.
Commenting on Afghanistan’s security capabilities, Maulana Fazl described their intelligence and military capacities as being in the early stages, and cautioned that Pakistan should consider whether opening a western front is a sensible military strategy at this time. “Pakistan possesses a military of international standard and capability,” he added.
He also criticized how the government handled the movement led by Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), saying he had condemned the treatment earlier and continues to do so. “The government should never have chosen a path of violence against Tehreek-e-Labbaik. Protest is a right,” he said, noting that he remains in contact with the movement’s leaders.
On a separate matter, he said the selection of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister is before the courts and urged the judiciary to decide the issue according to the Constitution and law. “The court should examine the matter through constitutional requirements, not via administrative orders,” he said.
Maulana Fazl’s remarks come amid heightened regional sensitivities and domestic political tensions, as he reiterated the need for diplomacy, legal propriety, and restraint in addressing both foreign and domestic disputes.
