Pakistan: Politicians should sit with Army to counter-terror; says JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman

Islamabad (Pakistan), August 6 (ANI): Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday said politicians and state institutions should sit together and foil the nefarious designs of terrorists, Dawn reported.
Dawn is a reputed Pakistani English daily.
"The state institutions, instead of launching a crackdown on innocent public, should sit down with politicians to foil the designs of terrorists," Dawn quoted Rehman as saying.
The Opposition leader was addressing a press conference after convening a grand tribal jirga on Friday, days after a deadly suicide attack on his party's convention in Bajaur claimed the lives of 63 people and left several injured.
Further, according to the Dawn report, the gathering expressed concerns over recent terrorist attacks and demanded action against the culprits. “The jirga demands effective steps to restore law and order,” said Rehman, reading out the declaration.
The jirga was attended by Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) head Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PPP leader Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Awami National Party general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other political leaders, as well as a large number of tribal elders, Dawn reported.
Referring to the military operations conducted in the past, the Opposition leader said those affected should be compensated for their losses.
Further, according to the report, the leader spoke about the current uptick in terror attacks, claiming it an "International conspiracy" was afoot to destabilise Pakistan "economically, politically and internally".
The daily stated further that the party chief also underscored the importance of strong bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and chalking out a joint strategy to weed out terrorism.
He said, “It was not feasible to not allow movement from one country to the other; therefore, both Pakistan and Afghanistan will have to make a joint strategy and further strengthen their relations.” (ANI)