Bilawal condemns targeting of JUI-F and urges government to tolerate criticism
The PPP chairman told Maulana Fazlur Rehman by telephone that a responsible opposition strengthens parliament, as a terrorism case against JUI-F officials proceeds.
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari telephoned Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday and said the government should tolerate criticism from the opposition.
A PPP press release said Bilawal condemned what he described as the political victimisation of the JUI-F and the measures taken against the party. The two leaders discussed the country's political situation during the call, according to the release.
Bilawal said a responsible opposition plays an important role in a democracy and in the parliamentary system. "The government should avoid steps that could weaken democracy and parliament," the release quoted him as saying.
Business Recorder reported the call on the basis of the PPP release. The release as carried by Business Recorder did not say who placed the call, while ARY News reported that Maulana Fazlur Rehman contacted Bilawal and that the two leaders exchanged views on the prevailing political situation, in a report datelined Islamabad.
ARY News placed the conversation against the background of a terrorism case registered against Mufti Abrar Ahmed, the JUI-F chief's secretary. According to a JUI-F spokesperson, the case against Mufti Abrar Ahmed carries serious charges, including terrorism, and names more than 200 unidentified party workers alongside him.
The party says Mufti Abrar Ahmed and those workers were falsely accused of assaulting police personnel. The spokesperson said that answering political differences through criminal cases and the use of state power went against democratic values.
ARY News also reported that the National Accountability Bureau issued another call-up notice to Asad Mahmood, Maulana Fazlur Rehman's son. The notice was issued in an inquiry into alleged illegal appointments in the Pakistan Post Office Department, according to ARY News.
The PPP release made no reference to the case against Mufti Abrar Ahmed or to the NAB notice to Asad Mahmood.
How the reports differ
Business Recorder built its report on the PPP press release and led on Bilawal's condemnation of what he called the political victimisation of the JUI-F. ARY News led on the call itself, reported that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was the one who made it, and was alone in placing it beside a terrorism case against the JUI-F chief's secretary, Mufti Abrar Ahmed, in which a party spokesperson said more than 200 unidentified workers are named. ARY News alone carried the JUI-F claim that its people were falsely accused of assaulting police personnel. ARY News also reported a fresh NAB call-up notice to Asad Mahmood, Fazlur Rehman's son, which Business Recorder did not mention.
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