ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties have agreed to convene an All Parties Conference (APC) after Eid-ul-Fitr to mull over a joint strategy for launching a protest movement against the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
The decision was announced at a joint press conference after an Iftar-dinner hosted by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, here on Sunday. Besides Bilawal, PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Maryam Nawaz, JUI-F chief Fazl-ur-Rehman, and leaders of Jamat-e-Islami, Awami National Party and a number of other opposition parties, addressed the news conference.
Bilawal told journalists the opposition parties had agreed to form a joint front against the PTI government over its failures and, therefore, decided to convene an APC led by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman after the holy month of Ramadan. He said the opposition parties agreed to continue contacts to resolve people’s problems. The PPP chairman said a couple of things had been decided in the meeting among the opposition parties.
Speaking on the occasion, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said the PTI government had pushed the country into rough waters, and now the opposition parties would ponder at the APC how to pull the country out of crises. He said the opposition parties at the Iftar-dinner expressed their willingness for protest after Eid, and they would hold detailed consultations to decide their strategy.
PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, speaking at the news conference, said the PTI government had failed in resolving public’s problems as everything, including country’s sovereignty, had been put at stake. He feared economic crisis was just a beginning. He clarified the opposition parties in their huddle did not discuss ongoing accountability and personal matters. He alleged the opposition was being victimised in the name of accountability and “we will face it”. He said the opposition wanted to focus on public issues and the same would be done at the APC.
Answering a question, Maryam Nawaz said the Charter of Democracy signed between the PPP and the PML-N made it possible that two democratic governments completed their tenure. Hasil Bizenjo of the National Party, speaking on the occasion, said the APC would give birth to a new opposition alliance. He stressed there was need for a strong political alliance. Leaders of ANP, JI, PTM and other parties also spoke.
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