Fazal-ur-Rehman

Fazal-ur-Rehman (born 19 June 1953) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F).

He is also the president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of political parties which ousted then prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion in 2022.

Rehman was born on 19 June 1953 (1 September according to another report) to a Marwat Pashtun family, in the village of Abul Kheel in Dera Ismail Khan.

His father, Mufti Mahmud, was an Islamic scholar of the Deobandi branch and a politician who served as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1972 to 1973.

His early education was from Millat High School, Multan and was a student of Mussarat Baig and Syed Iqbal Shah.

In the 1980s, he was part of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), which was formed to end the military regime of General Zia-ul-haq.

Rehman is a pro-Taliban politician, known for his close ties to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

He has attempted to re-brand himself as a moderate without connections to religious extremists and hardliners.

In the past, he has called for imposition of Sharia in Pakistan.

Being a follower of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi who campaigned for liberation against the British Raj but later restricted his members from armed struggle after establishing Political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Rehman opposed armed struggle to impose shariah laws as it leads to extremism in society.

Rehman began his political career as the secretary general of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in 1980 at the age of 27.

This was after the death of his father Mufti Mahmud who was the leader of the party before his death.

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

He attained a Bachelor's degree (B.A) in 1983 from University of Peshawar and completed his master's degree at Al-Azhar University Cairo.

During his early religious training and education (Ilm Us Saraf, Ilm Un Nahv, Logic) he remained the disciple of Mufti Muhammad Essa Gurmani and Molana Abdul Ghaffor Gurmani of Shadan Lund before studying Sharah-e-Mata-e-Aamil and Hidayat-un-Nahv with Muhammad Ameer of Chudwan in a Madrassa at Jhok wains Multan.

He was a student of Abdul Haq Akorwi, Hasan Jan, and Syed Sher Ali Shah during his Shahadat-ul Alamia at Darul Uloom Haqqania.

He was a member of the National Assembly between 1988 and 2018, and the Leader of the Opposition from 2004 to 2007.

He is a supporter of the Taliban government in Afghanistan and has demanded for its international recognition.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1988 Pakistani general elections 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 1990 Pakistani general elections for the second time on from D.I. Khan seat but did not win the election.

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

Fazal 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 1997 Pakistani general elections for the fourth time but did not win the election.

Rehman led several anti-American protests and pro-Taliban rallies in the major cities of Pakistan following the war in Afghanistan in 2001.

He criticised 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 President of the Pakistan Pervez Musharraf that he would be overthrown if he continued to support the “War on Terror”.

In October 2001, Pervez Musharraf placed Fazal 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, Fazal was set free and the cases against him were withdrawn.

Rehman was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 2002 Pakistani general elections 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, Fazal became a potential candidate for the post of prime minister of Pakistan but was not appointed.

When in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2004 to 2007, his party passed the 'Hasba Bill' which was later declared illegal and unconstitutional.

Through this bill, he believed that he would be following in his father Mufti Mahmud's footsteps, as he tried to implement 'Nizam-e-Mustafa', which his father struggled for throughout his political life.

However, it was declared unconstitutional by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry.

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

Rehman ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 2008 Pakistani general elections 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, but he lost the election in D.I. Khan constituency.

After defeat in the 2018 Pakistani general election, Rehman was ejected from the National Assembly and failed to win major political support in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bagging only 10 of the 99 seats in his home turf.

Alleging election fraud, 11 opposition political parties formed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) appointing Rehman as the president of this movement.