Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Thursday that any change in society should come through the political process.

Only the enforcement of Islamic laws could take the nation out of the crises it was facing, he added.Addressing the Sheikhul Hind conference in Gulistan, the Maulana said any change brought about through an armed struggle was unacceptable.He said that violence could not resolve political issues that should be settled through constitutional means.

In his speech, he tried to dispel the impression that religious people were responsible for the existing crises.He criticised the elements who wanted to change the political or electoral system by extra-constitutional means, adding that changes in the electoral process were possible only through legal means.

The JUI-F leader said that capitalism and feudalism were the main hurdles in the enforcement of the Islamic system in the country, adding that his party would continue its struggle for enforcement of Islamic laws through peaceful means.

Maulana Fazl said the country was rich in natural resources and referred to mines of gold and copper in Balochistan and coal reserves in Sindh and southern Punjab and said these resources should be harnessed to improve the lot of the people.

He said that proper utilisation of natural resources would lessen the country’s dependence on other nations, adding that the United States and IMF were interfering in “our internal affairs due to our weak economic position”.

He claimed the law and order situation in Balochistan was better than Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.On the occasion, tribal elder Shakoor Khan Ghaibzai and his tribesmen announced that they were joining the JUI-F.