JUI-F’s Deputy Chief Qari Iftikhar taken into custody, says party spokesperson

ISLAMABAD:

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Deputy Chief Qari Iftikhar has allegedly been taken into custody by unidentified individuals, the party’s spokesperson said on Monday.

JUI-F Spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said he and his colleagues were intercepted by men dressed in plain clothes near E-11 in Islamabad, adding that four to five individuals forced them into a vehicle.

He said they also confiscated his mobile phone and other identification documents.

“We were not told which institution these individuals belonged to or why we were being taken into custody,” Ghauri highlighted.

Ghauri also stated that he and one of his colleagues were driven around the city for approximately an hour before being released. However, he alleged that the unidentified men took Qari Iftikhar away and did not provide any information about his whereabouts.

Iftikhar serves as the deputy chief of JUI-F and is also in charge of the party’s Islamabad office.

There was no immediate official statement from the relevant authorities regarding the alleged incident.

The arrest comes amid growing tensions between the government and the JUI-F following the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Following the imposition of the emergency and governor’s rule, Fazl accused the government of backing out of negotiations with the PTI and the opposition despite initially agreeing to their demands.

He categorically rejected the imposition of governor’s rule or an emergency in K-P, saying that if an emergency had to be imposed, it should be imposed on the federal government, which he described as illegitimate.

The criticism subsequently spilt over into the assembly, escalating the war of words between the government and the JUI-F chief. Fazl had accused the government of misusing the Constitution.

Federal ministers hit back, accusing the JUI-F chief of overlooking his own role in forming and toppling governments.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi criticised Fazl over his opposition to governor’s rule in the province, suggesting that the religious-political leader was unhappy at not being offered a role in the new provincial setup.

Later, a delegation of the PTI and TTAP expressed full support for the JUI-F chief’s speech in the National Assembly and condemned what it described as his character assassination by government ministers following his strong criticism of the government’s actions.

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The story is developing and will be updated accordingly…