...the political wing of the Pak Taliban...
-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman
...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty. Fazl seldom misses a meal and is now so large he has his own gravitational pull...
has warned that any change to Article 243 that undermines democracy would be unacceptable.
Speaking at a presser in Islamabad, he said: ''No draft of the proposed 27th Amendment has been made public so far, so we cannot comment on it at this stage.''
Maulana Fazl added that the government had withdrawn 35 clauses during the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and including any of these in the 27th Amendment would amount to disrespecting the Constitution.
He emphasised that the 18th Amendment had strengthened provincial powers, and any attempt to reduce them would face strong opposition. ''JUI-F advocates for granting provinces greater authority, not diminishing their rights. Provincial powers can be expanded, but reduction is unacceptable,'' he stated.
Article 243 of the Constitution vests the supreme command of the armed forces in the President of Pakistain.
It also states that the federal government will have control and command of the armed forces.