Head of opposition's Rehbar Committee Akram Khan Durani Tuesday contacted the government's negotiation committee head, Defense Minister Pervez Khattak. Durani informed Khattak about the demands of JUI-F. Pervaiz Khattak on the occasion said that he would contact the Rehbar Committee after consulting other members of the government committee.

The government committee has summoned a meeting to discuss the demands of Rehbar Committee. Durrani said that he has made contacts with Pervaiz Khattak and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. He said the government committee was told that Rehbar Committee has not changed its stance. He added that the government committee would inform him after discussing the matter weather or not it wants talks.

Durrani said that JUI-F has been preparing to march towards Islamabad for months and "Our Azadi March will start on October 27, 2019 first to express solidarity with the people of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) who will be marking 27th October as a black day as Indian forces on the day entered the valley in 1947. And in the second phase, we will start marching towards Islamabad to rid the country of the fake government."

The marchers will enter Islamabad on October 31, Emir JUI-F Fazlur Rehman had announced earlier this month. Rehman has been trying to take all the opposition parties on board for the march against the government. Major opposition parties including Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have already announced participation in the anti-government protest in Islamabad, while smaller political parties including Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Awami Mili Party, Qaumi Wattan Party and others have also joined hands with the JUI-F against the government.

It is pertinent to mention here that a meeting agreed between Sadiq Sanjarani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri earlier was called off after instructions from Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The opposition parties' alliance has put forward its demands before the government asking the Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign and hold fresh election.

Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also made a telephone call to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to inquire after the health of the PML-N supermo Nawaz Sharif.

During his discussion with the leader of the opposition, the JUI-F chief told him that the government is using 'institutions' for political victimization. The JUI-F chief asked the government to provide best possible medical treatment to the three-time premier at Lahore hospital.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019