In a move that will fuel further political instability and unrest, the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) yesterday upped the ante by deciding to seek resignations of all its parliamentarians.
Addressing a news conference following an important meeting of the 11-party alliance here, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also said there would be no dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“All lawmakers of national and provincial assemblies will submit their resignations by December 31,” Rehman, flanked by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz, said.
Former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and ex-president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also attended the meeting via video-link.
Rehman reiterated that the opposition parties will hold a “historic rally” at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on December 13 and warned the PTI government against creating any hurdles.
“Today, we reject Imran Khan’s offer of any dialogue and will not grant him any NRO,” said the PDM chief.
NRO — or National Reconciliation Order — implies exemption from any accountability in the Pakistani political lexicon.
He said the PDM’s steering committee meeting will be held today to decide the date of anti-government long march on the federal capital Islamabad. Besides, he said, the joint opposition will also hold protest demonstrations and give strike calls across the country.
Responding to a question, Rehman said the government has been “shaken” by the PDM’s series of rallies and “now it only needs a final push to collapse”.
Talking to the media in Lahore before leaving for Islamabad, Maryam Nawaz said the government was so scared that it had registered thousands of cases against party workers and supporters.
The PML-N leader said she was not afraid of getting arrested and warned that even if she was detained the movement would be spearheaded by her supporters.
Meanwhile, PTI stalwart and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yesterday urged the PDM leadership against resigning from the parliament, saying they had become “emotional” and cautioned that the proposed resignations would not benefit democracy.
Qureshi recalled that losing parties never accepted election results. “If the results of 2018 elections are unacceptable to you, then the 2013 election results were also not accepted by anyone,” the foreign minister remarked.
The PTI itself had launched a popular movement following the elections in 2013, claiming that it had been heavily rigged.
Leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) seated from left: PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman during a political rally in Peshawar last month. (File photo)
