Shibli Faraz said.

Shibli Faraz said the so-called democratic movement was out to take revenge from the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) for exposing the poor performance and corruption of its leadership, which had eroded their credibility.

'The people did not vote them [in the last general election] for their lack of performance (during their governments),' he said, asserting the public very well knew that they were not honest and 'righteous' anymore.

He said after two years, the PDM leaders, all of a sudden, started the anti-government movement when they could not blackmail the government over the Financial Action Task Force-related legislation and got convinced that they would never get any National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)-like concession or relief.

Neither they had any evidence to prove their claim of rigging (in last general election), nor had pursued any legal procedure in that regard, he added.

He said the PDM was being led by a person, who faced a revolt in his own party from the senior leaders. Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief, like all other opposition leaders, had resorted to hurling threats at the state institutions instead of responding to his corruption cases in the courts.

Referring to JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri's recent speech, he said the opposition parties had no interest in democracy as they just wanted to destabilize a democratically elected government.

Senior leaders of his own party, he added, had exposed Maulana Fzal Ur Rehman by declaring him as 'selected' and 'liar'. It showed that the senior party members had no confidence in the Maulana, which made him 'irrelevant' politically.

Maulana Fazl was heading an 11-party alliance, which was taking its last breath due to difference of opinion among its leaders about the planned en mass resignations from the Parliament and the long march, he remarked

To a query, the minister categorically rejected the impression that the government was behind the intra-party rift in the JUI-F. It was not a new thing as in the past Maulana Fazl had been in the crosshairs for awarding party tickets to his own family members and dear ones by negating the democratic norms.

The revolt in the JUI-F ranks, he said, was inevitable. Such things did happen when the chief of a religious party, who instead of serving the cause of Islam indulged worldly things, he added.

The PDM was headed by a person, who had no respect even...

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