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Taking a direct swipe at Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, senior Pakistani leader and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman reminded the military establishment of its humiliating defeat and surrender in the 1971 war against India, warning that continuous oppression and bloodshed could lead to fresh geographical changes in the region.
Addressing a JUI-F convention in Peshawar, Rehman questioned the military's chest-thumping and tall claims while the nation reels under immense public suffering. "We are the protectors of this country. No one's father can harm this country. I agree, you are very powerful," the JUI-F chief remarked while targeting the top military leadership. Drawing a sharp parallel between Asim Munir's current posture and the Pakistani military's historical failures in 1971, where a 13-day war between India and Pakistan concluded with the decisive surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops in Dhaka on December 16, facilitating the fall of Pakistan's eastern wing and the liberation of Bangladesh, Rehman reminded the establishment of how the Pakistani army laid down its arms before India just a day after making grand declarations of fighting till the end. "But I remember, and maybe there are some elders who remember, that in December 1971, one day before laying down arms, General Yahya Khan addressed the army and said, we will fight in the streets, in the deserts, in the fields, in the factories, in the mountains, and we will fight against them. We will fight. We heard these big words then," he said. Contextualising the military's historic hollow claims with its present-day conduct, the JUI-F chief questioned why the public is being subjected to such severe hardships while the establishment remains insensitive to their misery. "Why are you putting the country and the people to the test? Why are you having fun when your public is suffering? And today is 2026. When the revolution came in Afghanistan in 1989, and the war started, now you tell me, it's been 45-46 years, blood has been flowing on the same line for about half a century. When blood flows like this, then it is a sign of geographical changes," Rehman stated. Warning that persistent state oppression and ongoing conflict threaten the nation's integrity and signal potential territorial disintegration, the JUI-F chief added, "It is a sign of oppression. Then at least inform us of your intentions. We are tolerating it and will continue to tolerate it. It will continue. A few more days, my dear, just a few more days. We are forced to take a breath in the shade of oppression. If we endure the oppression for a little longer, if we suffer, if we cry, it is the legacy of our ancestors. We are helpless." (ANI)
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