Chaos will ensue if demands not met: firebrand cleric Rehman threatens Pak govt

Firebrand cleric-cum-politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that the massive sit-in, aimed at toppling Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, was being held to fulfil a "national responsibility" and not to do 'mujras', warning that chaos will ensue if their demands were not met.

The Pakistan government should present its suggestions to the opposition parties if it wants to find a middle ground and break the deadlock, said Rehman, who has been leading the 'Azadi March' demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Khan.

The right-wing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader is leading the massive protest, which entered the sixth day on Wednesday. Dubbed as 'Azadi March', the protestors demand Prime Minister Khan's resignation, accusing him of "rigging" the 2018 general elections.

 

Rehman said the anti-government sit-in, which entered its sixth day on Wednesday, was staged with a view to fulfil a "national responsibility" and for which "much effort and resilience" has been exercised.

"It is not as if we are holding mujras (dance performances) here each night. There are respectable people sitting here. They have not come here to indulge in debauchery. My decency does not permit me to repeat the scenes we all witnessed in Islamabad in the pas," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rehman, who addressing the protestors, warned that chaos will follow if their demands were not met.

The opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People Party (PPP), have also thrown their weight behind the massive anti-government rally comprising thousands of protesters in Islamabad.

Earlier, speaking to the media following his meeting with Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Rehman said: "the stage for a positive reply has not yet arrived".

"It is everyone's country, when the ship sinks, we all sink. There is restlessness in the country and it is everyone's responsibility to end this [restlessness]," the Dawn quoted him as saying.