PDM to thrash out thorny issues on Jan 2
ISLAMABAD: a crucial meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) are going to be held in Lahore on January 2 during which the mainstream opposition leadership would ponder over contentious issues associated with its ongoing anti-government campaign, sources told The News on Friday.
“The upcoming PDM meeting will specialise in four basic issues including by-elections, Senate elections, resignations from the assemblies and an extended advance Islamabad,” sources said. The meeting are going to be attended by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice chairman Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and leaders of other religious and regional parties. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari would attend the meeting through video link.
Sources say there are different viewpoints among the mainstream opposition parties on important political issues thanks to which the PDM is yet to return up with a clear-cut strategy within the current political situation. “The PPP will certainly press the opposition parties to participate in both by-elections and Senate elections. On the opposite hand, the JUI-F isn't in favour of the suggestion to participate in by-elections at a time when the opposition parties are receiving resignations from their lawmakers,” sources said.
They said the JUI-F was also of the view that if the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) succeeded in getting majority seats and electing its own Senate Chairman, it might still influence national politics albeit its government within the Centre remained intact or was toppled by the opposition alliance. A senior PML-N leader, who requested anonymity, told this correspondent that the party leadership was now convinced that tendering resignations from the assemblies wouldn't break the body for Senate elections and therefore the ruling party would be ready to grab more seats within the absence of the opposition members. He said the party wasn't in favor of any no-confidence motion in Balochistan, Punjab or the Centre because it believed that the answer to all or any problems was only holding fresh free and fair elections.
A source within the PPP said former President Asif Ali Zardari was likely to present his viewpoint to the PDM meeting that folks shouldn't get an impact that the PDM movement was just to prevent Senate elections because it had been struggling for a much bigger cause and its aim was to urge obviate the Imran-led government that had made lives of individuals miserable.
Sources said both PML-N and PPP weren't in favor of an extended march in early February because their senior members maintained that they ought to move towards Islamabad during a favorable political environment and weather . They said the PPP was completely against staging a sit-in in Islamabad and its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would also present his viewpoint to the upcoming PDM meeting. Sources said the PDM leadership would face a big task to return up with a consensus on political issues on which mainstream opposition parties held different positions.
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