ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Fazlur Rehman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif agreed on Monday to convene a special session of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) by the end of this month, reports said.
An agreement was reached between the two during a telephonic conversation wherein they discussed at length the domestic political situation.
Fazl would soon announce a final date after contacting the component parties of the anti-government alliance.
Nine opposition parties formed the joint platform in September last year to give tough time to Prime Minister Imran Khan and begin a nationwide agitation against his government but it deflated like a punctured balloon in April when the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) quit the campaign citing a lack of trust.
Earlier in the day, reports, citing sources, quoted Fazl as considering a meeting of the multi-party on May 28 — Youm-e-Takbir which is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the country’s first nuclear weapons test.
According to sources in the PDM, the movement has also planned to hold nationwide rallies and public gatherings in June and July to pressurise the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Sources further disclosed on May 21, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) will take out rallies against Israel’s attacks on Palestine followed by its central committee’s meetings on May 23 and 24 in which Fazl will take his party into confidence on the planned anti-government movement.
Large protests are planned for June and July and the PDM has also planned to launch a long march in August to send the government home.
PDM was formed by the nine major opposition parties, including PPP, JUI-F, PML-N, ANP, to remove the government.
On March 16, Fazl had announced the postponement of the long march which was initially scheduled to be held on March 26. The decision was taken as the PPP, a key component of the PDM, was reluctant to tender resignations from assemblies.
In a brief press talk, Fazl had said that all parties except the PP had agreed to resign from the assemblies. He had said that PPP had sought time to make a consensus on the resignation issue, announcing to postpone the march.
Later, on March 26, a major crack appeared in the opposition alliance when PPP, without consulting other parties of the alliance, managed to get former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani elected as Leader of the Opposition in Senate with the help of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
Gilani secured 30 votes for the slot. They further said that even four independents Senator Ahmed Khan, Senator Kuhda Babar, and Naseebullah Bazai had thrown their weight behind him. This did not go down well with the PML-N and JUI-F which accused the PPP of not taking them into confidence.
