'Take off uniform and contest elections': Pakistani MP's open challenge to its military

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, has launched a scathing attack on Pakistan's military and government, accusing them of neglecting security in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. During a rally in Punjab, Rehman declared that Pashtun regions were "drowning in blood" due to a lack of governance. He asserted that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the police retreat after sunset, leaving streets vulnerable to armed groups and bandits.

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The country is falling apart. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today, there is no government. After the sun sets in the west, until the sun rises in the morning, the police do not step out of their stations. And if the police do not come out of their stations, then the streets will be handed over to armed groups, then the streets and roads will be at the mercy of bandits.

Rehman directly addressed the military, stating they had no effective governance in his province and were merely residing in comfortable accommodations. He extended this critique to Balochistan, which he claimed had already slipped out of government control, and warned that the Pashtun region was now following suit. He highlighted the human cost, recounting how dozens of bodies were received in the Pashtun region within days, necessitating the purchase of shrouds and the performance of funerals.

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I know your authority in my province, you have no government. You are just sitting inside your grand bungalows in the capitals, legs crossed, thinking you are the rulers. At the very least, in my province, you have no government.

The politician criticized military personnel for failing to protect citizens despite receiving public salaries. He argued that soldiers' sacrifices and salaries are for the nation's security, questioning the benefit to citizens when their blood is shed. Rehman challenged the military's role, stating he would not form an army and accusing them of pushing his homeland towards generational vendettas, murder, and plunder.

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In Balochistan, in the Baloch areas, there were rebellions; the entire Baloch region had slipped out of Pakistan's control. Even today, there is no writ of the Pakistan government there. But we were holding back the Baloch region; now the Pashtun region too is drowning in blood.

In a direct challenge, Rehman invited the military to enter politics by removing their uniforms and contesting elections. He suggested this would reveal their true electoral support. "If you want to do politics, then take off the uniform and come; participate in the elections, and it will become clear what votes people give to those in uniform," he stated. A petition has reportedly been filed against Rehman over his remarks, alleging they hurt public sentiment.

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Your youth who are becoming martyrs, they have tied the uniform for this very reason, they are taking their salary for this very reason, that they have to fight for the country's security. What favor are you doing me by throwing your blood on me? You are taking your salary from the taxes of my blood and sweat for precisely this.