Fazal ur Rehman (politician)

Early life

Rehman was born on 19 June 1953 in Dera Ismail Khan. According to another report, he was born on 1 September 1953.

Rehman hails from a religious and political family Dera Ismail Khan. His father, Mufti Mahmud was an Islamic scholar and politician who served as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1972 to 1973.

Political career

Rehman begun his political career as the secretary general of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in 1980 at the age of 27 after the death of his father Mufti Mahmud who was the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam before his death.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam later split into two factions in the mid 1980s with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), the main faction led by Rehman.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 1988 for the first time on from D.I.Khan seat. He then made connections with Afghan Taliban.

Rehman ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 1990 for the second time on from D.I.Khan sea however couldn't win the election.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 1993 for the second time on Islamic Jamhoori Mahaz ticket from D.I.Khan seat. Rehman was appointed as the chairman of the Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs in National Assembly of Pakistan.

Rehman ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 1997 for the fourth time however couldn't win the election.

Rahman led several anti-American protest, and pro-Taliban rallies in the major cities of Pakistan following the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He criticised then President of United States George W. Bush, and threatened to launch jihad, against the United States if the bombings continued. He also criticised and warned then President of the Pakistan Pervez Musharraf that he would be overthrown if he continued to support for the “War on Terror”. In October 2001, Pervez Musharraf placed Rahman under house arrest in his native village Abdul Khel for inciting the citizens of Pakistan against the armed forces of Pakistan and for trying to overthrow the government of Pakistan. Later in March 2002, Rehman was set free and the cases against him were withdrawn.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 2002 for the third time on Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal ticket. He won on two seats, NA 24 and NA 25, the later was vacated.

Upon winning the election, Rehman became a potential candidate for the post of prime minister of Pakistan however was not appointed.

He served as the leader of the opposition from 2004 to 2007.

In 2007, Rehman invited then US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, to a dinner in which he sought her support in becoming Prime Minister of Pakistan and expressed a desire to visit America.

Rehman ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general elections, 2008 for the sixth time on Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal ticket from two constituencies, NA-24, D.I. Khan which is his traditional constituency and NA-26, Bannu In September 2008, he was elected chairman of the Kashmir committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the fourth time on Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal ticket from Bannu constituency, however he lost the election in D.I. Khan constituency. By 2008, Rehman distanced himself from Taliban and called himself a moderate.

In May 2014, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif given him the status of a federal minister for being the chairman of special committee of the National Assembly on Kashmir. In August 2017, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi given him the same status again.

Public image

Rahman was generally considered a pro-Taliban politician in Pakistan, known for his close ties to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However he called himself a moderate with no connections with the Islamic extremists and religious hardliners. He also called for imposition of Sharia law in Pakistan in the past however later formed alliances with secular political parties in Pakistan.

He is also known for changing his ideologies and alliances with the political parties in Pakistan.

Assassination attempts

In 2011, Rehman had been the target of two assassination attempt one after another but remained unhurt in both. First attack came when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy while Rehman was heading towards Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway and one day later, he was attacked again when a suicide bomber blew himself near a convoy of Rehman in which twelve people were killed.

In 2014, at least two people were killed and dozens injured when a suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside a JUI-F rally in Quetta. Rehman car was damaged however he was unhurt in the attack. Banned militant group Jundallah (Pakistan) claimed responsibility for the attack.