World News | PM Imran Khan's Party Concerned over Rise of Religious Parties Like JUI-F, TLP in Pakistan
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the rise of religious parties such as the radical Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam in the country was a sign of a "retrogressive society".
Islamabad, Dec 21 (PTI) Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the rise of religious parties such as the radical Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam in the country was a sign of a "retrogressive society".
Chaudhry made the comments when asked about the defeat of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party in local government elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday.
Also Read | China Trying To Increase Foothold Among Madhesis in Nepal.
Prime Minister Imran Khan's party ruling the province for the second consecutive term since 2013 was major loser while the right-wing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) of Maulana Fazlur Rehman emerged as the winner.
Chaudhry called the JUI-F as an “extremist party” and said he was "disappointed" at the fact that the JUI-F had bagged the highest number of seats in local government elections in the province.
"Such parties are a sign of a retrogressive society and a sign that things in the country are not fine. It is not a reassuring thing for society when people who are against women's rights, (and against) freedoms come into power," he said.
Earlier, the JUI-F supported candidate was appointed as chief minister of the province in 2002 and mentioning that period Chaudhry said that the party had ruined the education and finance sectors in KP in 2002.
"It is unfortunate that, due to our mistakes, such a political party has been noticed," he said, adding that the rise of "religious extremist parties" like JUI-F and the Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) would ultimately harm the country.
The TLP made headlines last month due to its march to force the government to expel the French ambassador over blasphemous cartoons published in France in 2020. In clashes with TLP, several policemen were killed.
Talking about the dismal performance of PTI, he said it was not good if the party faced setbacks and such "political dwarfs" get the chance to step into the limelight.
Earlier, Prime Minister Khan tweeted that his party made “mistakes” in the first phase of elections.
"PTI made mistakes in 1st phase of KP LG (Local Government) elections and paid the price. Wrong candidate selection was a major cause. From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI's LG election strategy in 2nd phase of KP LG elections and LG elections across Pakistan,” he said.
He promised to “come out stronger” in future.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)