Maulana Fazlur Rehman, former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan and chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUIF) visited VIF on February 16, 2011. He was accompanied by the former Tourism Minister, Attaur Rehman and Senator Dr Khalid Soomro. During a two and a half hour long interaction with senior faculty members of the VIF, Maulana Fazlur Rehman gave his perception of the state of relations between India and Pakistan, the political situation inside Pakistan, developments in Afghanistan and the problems created by the presence of foreign forces in that country and the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan (especially in light of the assassination of the former governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer).