An all-party conference (APC) of the opposition political parties, which deliberated on various options as part of the anti-government movement, failed to evolve a consensus over whether opposition legislators resign en masse from the Parliament or move for in-house change in National Assembly.
The opposition parties' leaders were hosted by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman for a critical session at his residence to deliberate upon the future strategy of the anti-government movement after his two-day deadline to Prime Minister Imran Khan's resignation expired on Sunday.
However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not attend the APC citing their own meetings of the respective parties. The PML-N was represented by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Dr Ebadur Rehman while Syed Naveed Qamar, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and Farhatullah Babar led the PPP side.
Other parties' leaders who also attended the APC included Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senator Usman Kakar of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Zahid Khan of Awami National Party (ANP), Mir Kabeer Shahi and Tahir Bizenjo of National Party (NP), Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao of Qaumi Wattan Party (QWP) and others.
Mulling various options, informed sources said, the JUI-F chief told the meeting that JUI-F members of the National Assembly have submitted their resignations and urged other opposition political parties to follow suit and submit resignations of the respective MNAs to Rahbar Committee - a representative body of the opposition parties.
However, the two major opposition parties, PML-N and PPP leaders who attended the APC, were of the opinion that they would place the suggestion before their respective party leadership.
On a suggestion for an in-house change in the National Assembly, the sources said that consensus could not be evolved as many participants argued that the move could result into an another embarrassment after their failed effort to remove Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on August 1, 2019 despite having a majority in the Upper House.
The sources further said that the JUI-F chief also expressed his disappointment at the nominal presence of the workers of the two major opposition parties - PML-N and PPP - in the protest camp.
"Was the protest against the rulers a sole decision of the JUI-F or was it decided in the Rehbar Committee where all the opposition parties have their representations?" Maulana was quoted by the source to have inquired in the APC.
The JUI-F chief also asked the participants to prepare a joint strategy and act upon it with sincerity, as he stated that giving more time to rulers will be injustice to people.
The Maulana also told the parties to bring workers to the protest camp, besides suggesting countrywide protest either jointly or separately, adding that the JUI-F is already on protest in Islamabad and rest of the parties should initiate a protest movement such as 'wheel jam' and 'shutterdown' strikes in rest of the country. The sources further said that the APC also agreed on extension of the sit-in for two more days.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019