The meeting that took place at Jamiat Ulema Islam – Fazal leader Riaz Durrani’s home has come days after the PML-F leader met Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail and delivered PML-F supremo Pir Pagara’s personal message, requesting Sharif to stop his party from exercising the option of the long march and resigning from the assemblies.
However, sources close to JUI-F claim that Maulana Fazal ur-Rehman rejected the offer of Grand National Dialogue, saying that no talks were possible with the incompetent and illegitimate government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Earlier, former Prime Minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif had also rejected the idea of a grand dialogue after his brother’s meeting with Muhammad Ali Durrani. In a tweet posted hours after the meeting on December 25, Nawaz wrote: Those who brought Imran Khan into power by stealing people’s mandate are now talking about a grand national dialogue. The only objective of the dialogue is to get this incompetent and corrupt government an NRO from the PDM. Our struggle is to solve people’s problems and reclaiming respect for their vote. Being part of any such dialogue would be tantamount to backtracking on our sacred purpose.