Pakistan's leading right-wing Islamic leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has come out in support of his erstwhile rival, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying the opposition party has the right to hold rallies and even form a government.
Rehman, the chief of his faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), made a blistering speech in the National Assembly, slamming the establishment for allegedly rigging the political system.
"It is the right of the PTI to hold a rally," he said. "We also objected to the 2018 election and object to this (February 8 polls) one too. If the 2018 poll was rigged, why is the current one not rigged?" he asked.
PTI leader Asad Qaiser had demanded the party's right to organise a rally. "The demand of Asad Qaiser is correct, and it is the right of PTI to hold a rally," Rehman said in his speech.
Rehman requested the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ruling coalition and the Pakistan Peoples Party to allow the PTI to form the government if it enjoyed a majority in the parliament.
"Leave this power. Come and sit here [on the opposition benches], and if the PTI is indeed the larger group, then give them the government," he said.
In a scathing attack, he drew parallels with neighbouring India. "Just compare India and ourselves... both countries got independence on the same day. But today, they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower, and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy," he said.
He said that decisions are made by somebody else, but politicians are blamed for the problems.
"We got the country in the name of Islam, but today, we have become a secular state. Since 1973, not a single recommendation of the CII has been implemented. How can we be an Islamic country?" he said.
He also said Pakistan was begging the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy.
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