JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri alleges unidentified men detained Deputy Chief Qari Iftikhar near Islamabad’s E-11 sector and took him to an undisclosed location.
ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Deputy Chief Qari Iftikhar was allegedly taken into custody by unidentified men in Islamabad on Monday, with his whereabouts remaining unknown, according to the party’s spokesperson.
JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said he and his colleagues were intercepted by several men in plain clothes near Islamabad’s E-11 sector. He alleged that four to five individuals forced them into a vehicle and confiscated his mobile phone and identification documents.
According to Ghauri, the men neither identified themselves nor disclosed which institution they represented. They also did not provide any explanation for taking the group into custody.
Ghauri said he and one of his colleagues were driven around different parts of the capital for nearly an hour before being released. However, he alleged that the unidentified men took Qari Iftikhar with them and did not reveal where they were taking him.
Iftikhar serves as JUI-F’s deputy chief and oversees the party’s Islamabad office.
No immediate response was available from the relevant authorities regarding the alleged incident.
The development comes amid heightened political tensions between the government and JUI-F following the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has strongly opposed the government’s decision, questioning its constitutional and political justification. He has also accused the government of backing away from negotiations with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other opposition parties despite initially agreeing to their demands.
Fazl argued that if an emergency was necessary, it should be imposed on the federal government, which he described as illegitimate, rather than the KP administration.
His criticism sparked a heated exchange between opposition leaders and government ministers in the National Assembly. The JUI-F chief accused the government of misusing the Constitution, prompting federal ministers to challenge his political position and his past role in government formation.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also criticised Fazl over his opposition to governor’s rule, suggesting that his stance was linked to not being offered a position in the proposed provincial administration.
Meanwhile, a delegation representing PTI and the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP) expressed solidarity with Fazl following his parliamentary speech. The delegation also condemned what it described as a campaign to malign the JUI-F chief over his criticism of the government’s decisions.
The alleged detention of Qari Iftikhar adds another development to the political tensions, although authorities had not issued an immediate statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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