ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday said the opposition alliance out to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from power has started to show signs of discord as it pointed to conflicting signals being sent through the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcast Senator Shibli Faraz said: “One PDM and multiple narratives. Bilawal’s insistence on no-confidence [motion], Ahsan Iqbal’s qualms about it, and Maryam’s persistent calls for a long march [to Islamabad] is clear proof of PDM falling apart.”
ایک پی ڈی ایم اور کئی بیانیے۔بلاول کا عدم اعتمادپر زور ،احسن اقبال کےاس پر شکوک و شبہات اورمریم کا لانگ مارچ پر اصرار پی ڈی ایم کا شیرازہ بکھرنےکاواضح ثبوت ہے ۔ شاہراہوں پر عوام کو گمراہ کرنے کیلئے نکلے تھے،عوام کی جانب سے مسترد ہونے کے بعد واپس ایوانوں کا رخ اختیار کر رہے ہیں ۔
— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) January 25, 2021
“The opposition parties had taken to the roads to mislead the public but are now making their way back to the Parliament after being rejected by them,” he added.
Last week, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recommended the opposition should table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the parliament. The following day, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal demanded him to “show numbers” to back up his suggestion.
Iqbal was of the opinion there was “only one way” the PDM must take, and that was a “decisive long march” to Islamabad against the government. For long march, he said, March is an ideal month.
PPP co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari, in a bid to dispel rumours of division within the PDM’s ranks, said “all options” — including a no-confidence vote, resignations from legislative assemblies, long march and even a nationwide wheel-jam strike — were still on the table.
“The Pakistan Democratic Movement is united and it will continue its onslaught against the government from all directions,” he said while speaking to PPP’s Punjab chapter’s general secretary Chaudhry Manzoor on Sunday.
