Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday warned the government of serious consequences if it deviates from his demands.

Fazl was addressing a press conference where he lashed out at the government. “Our economy is in its worst condition,” he said. “Unemployment is on the rise and people have lost the power to spend.”

Fazl said that institutions had lost their ability to produce. He said that the business community was concerned while hundreds of thousands were becoming unemployed.

The JUI-F chief said that elections were the only way forward for the country. “New elections must be held across the country,” he said. “Our protests in certain areas of the country are going on.”

Fazl criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that the government was a mafia. “He [Prime Minister Imran] refers to others as a mafia whereas he and others are a mafia themselves,” he said. He said that the Azadi March had united the entire country and brought it on one common platform. Fazl was of the view that the incumbent government was an inept one and that Pakistan needed a strong political system. “The Azadi March was a historic event. Its effects are still being felt in Pakistani politics,” Fazl said. The JUI-F chief said that his party had decided to be the spokesperson of the poor in the country. Fazl said that Pakistan’s foreign policy had performed poorly and as a result, Pakistan stood alone in the world. “Our friends are even not willing to stand with us,” he said.