Mufti Muneebur Rehman stated on Monday that the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) didn’t demand the expulsion of the French envoy and the closure of the embassy.
Mufti Muneed stated in a presser in Karachi stated that “Lies were spoken on television about the talks [with the TLP], that they had demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador, the closure of the embassy and to break ties with the European Union. This was a blatant lie.”
He went on to question “So how can trust be established when government officials speak lies publicly?” ,adding that those who participated in the negotiations did not have personal agendas and were patriots, calling the whole process a “marathon intellectual exercise”.
Mufti Muneeb was among the clerics who facilitated talks between the government and the banned outfit, helping both sides reach an agreement after an impasse of three weeks.
He went to state that the country’s “liberals” were more offended than Pakistan’s external enemies over the government’s recent agreement with the TLP. The statement came in light of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s statement that there was “at least some good news” after India lost to New Zealand during the ongoing T20 World Cup.
While responding to a question about whether the ministers that the negotiating team had objected to were included in the negotiations, the Mufti stated that “When we went, you should understand [the implication].”
He further lambasted the “liberals” by stating that they would be the first ones to jump ship when faced with choppy waters. “We’ve seen them before in one ship, then another and now in this ship” he stated.
He added that similar to what had happened during the Lal Masjid operation in 2007, the liberals were crying about the writ of the state.
“Till 12 at night they talked about the writ of the state, but when the unfortunate operation took place they opposed it”, the Mufti concluded while referring to the liberals as enemies of state.
Earlier, the members of the negotiating team from the government side claimed that they had reached an agreement with the proscribed group in order to end the nearly three-week-long impasse, but refused to reveal the details.
Mufti Muneeb, who along with some other clerics facilitated the talks, said the agreement had the backing of jailed TLP chief Saad Rizvi.
Refusing to share contents of the deal, the cleric said its details would be made public at an “appropriate time”. He, however, said its “positive result” would be visible to the nation next week or during the next 10 days. He then used an English proverb “action speaks louder than words” to justify the move to keep details of the deal secret.
Earlier, a team of 19 senior clerics had met Prime Minister Imran Khan at his Banigala residence on Saturday. The delegation was led by Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri.
However, the senior clerics, all of whom were Barelvis, had objected to the presence of Special Representative to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi in the meeting, after which he left. The information minister, who was on his way to Banigala, was also told not to come as the delegation had objected to his presence as well. The minister’s announced press talk was also cancelled.
Both Tahir Ashrafi and Fawad Chaudhry were not visible in the official footage released by the PM secretariat after the meeting.
When contacted, Fawad Chaudhry said he was not even invited to the meeting. He said the announcement made by the PID regarding his news conference was mistakenly released as the presser was in fact scheduled by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, but was later done by the religious affairs minister.
On the contrary, Tahir Ashrafi responded to media queries through a tweet, claiming that he and Fawad Chaudhry were not there because they had to go to some other meeting.
