ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Tuesday announced that members of the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies of the 11 opposition political parties in the alliance would submit their resignations to their respective leadership by December 31, 2020, in a bid to step up pressure on the PTI government.
This was announced by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the president of the PDM who is also chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) in a news conference after a meeting of the senior leaders of the parties in the PDM alliance.
The meeting which was attended by senior leadership of the opposition political parties, including by former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and ex-president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari via video links, deliberated upon the future strategy of the DPM as its anti-government movement is entering another phase following the upcoming December 13 public rally in Lahore at Minar-e-Pakistan.
Maulana, flanked by vice president of PML-N Maryam Nawaz, chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other senior PDM leaders, also announced the steering committee of the PDM would meet today (Wednesday) to decide about the date of "long march" towards Islamabad, besides on the countrywide wheel-jam and shutter down strike, and rallies in small towns and major cities at the district level. "We have decided that by December 31, members of the national and all provincial assemblies belonging to the opposition parties will hand over their resignations to their respective party heads," he said, and also rejected the offer of negotiations by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"We got to know that he [PM] wants negotiations with us...in other words, he [PM] is seeking an NRO. We reject your offer of the dialogue. You're not even "worth" holding negotiations with," he added in response to the offer of negotiations.
During the meeting, he said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also participated via video links, adding that all the participants expressed their commitment that the PDM rally in Lahore would be held as per scheduled on December 13 at Minar-e-Pakistan.
"All the decisions were taken unanimously and the opposition will not disappoint the people...The Lahore rally will be historic and it will prove to be the 'final nail in the coffin' of this government," he maintained.
Responding to a question, Maulana said that once the opposition lawmakers submitted their resignations, they would not take those back.
"Once the opposition members submit their resignations, will not be taken back like they'd done in the past," he added, while referring to the submission of resignations by the PTI parliamentarians during 2014 sit-in protest but then they returned to the Parliament.
"The government has been affected, the "chair" has been shaken...All that is needed now is a push to give," he said, and also added that the opposition was not afraid of a crackdown by the government.
"We haven't even thought about it [arrests]," he added.
In response to another question, Maulana said that the movement was against the entire "rigged" system.
"The "selectors" should also think about their fate, if they continue to support this "system"," he added.
Responding to a query, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that all the opposition political parties agreed with what Maulana had stated.
Earlier, talking to reporters, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb alleged that "Imran Khan has been constantly "begging" for an "NRO" from the opposition secretly." "But he must know that the PDM does not deal behind closed doors with "selectors" but acts through the power of the people, and the sanctity of their vote," she said.
She said that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was behind bars only because the "selected" were "scared" of him, and wanted to sabotage the PDM movement.
"No matter what Imran does, the time for him to go home has arrived...The level of this "selected" prime minister is that he is threatening the vendors of chairs and tents providing for the PDM Lahore rally with FIRs," she said, adding that the organizers of the rally were not afraid of any legal action against them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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