Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticizes the imposition of “judicial martial law”

Islamabad: Raising security concerns ahead of the upcoming general elections, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman maintained on Thursday that the nation was under “judicial martial law.”

“If the poll schedule is released in accordance with the court’s orders, when will the Election Commission of Pakistan [ECP] become independent?” The question was posed by the JUI-F chief during an Islamabad press conference.

Fazl brought up the fact that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had been summoned by three Supreme Court judges and told to submit a plea for the polls.

He went on to say that the top court later opened during the time of the Isha prayers and gave the CEC instructions to release the election schedule, which the ECP then had to put into action.

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Even if a party activist was killed in a terrorist attack while running for office, the leader of JUI-F threatened to hold Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and the CEC accountable.

According to Fazl, the district administration had informed his party that the JUI-F could not run for office because the situation was dangerous.

He went on, “At the very least, the environment should be made conducive if we contest the elections.” The head of JUI-F stated that unfavorable weather and security conditions would have an impact on the polls.

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He posed the question, “What will happen when the turnout is affected because of the weather?” When his party voiced its concerns about these factors, Fazl claimed that they were accused of trying to rig the election.

According to the JUI-F chief, the issue of election security ought to have been heard by the supreme court first. “We are not satisfied with the security situation, at least,” he continued.