ISLAMABAD: While the wheeling and dealing for forging post-election alliances is at its peak, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to tell the opposition parties that it was not interested in launching a PNA-like movement of 1977 against the government that had derailed democracy for a decade.
The party has decided to convince the opposition parties to use Parliament as a platform to raise the issue of alleged rigging in the July 25 general elections rather than launching a movement. The Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has notified a committee to engage political parties to discuss the way forward.
The committee comprises former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Syed Khursheed Shah, Opposition Leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman, Secretary General PPP Parliamentarians Farhatullah Babar, PPP President Punjab Qamar Zaman Kaira, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Syed Naveed Qamar.
The decision to constitute the committee was taken in a meeting held at the Bilawal House, Karachi on Friday.
Former president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari jointly chaired the meeting.
The PPP committee will contact political parties from Sunday (today) to formulate a joint future strategy to give a tough time to Imran Khan-led PTI in Parliament.
The PPP has already rejected the polls and challenged the legitimacy of the upcoming government.
According to sources, the PPP was in no mood to explore the possibility of forming a government at the center with the help of other opposition parties and was more interested in making a grand opposition alliance in the National Assembly to give the PTI-led government a tough time. The opposition already enjoys majority in the Senate where it can block any legislation.
Sources said the proposal for exploring the possibility of forming government with the help of PML-N and MMA was presented before Zardari and Bilawal but they were not interested in it.
However, sources said the PPP committee would discuss all the proposals with the other opposition parties to adopt the future line of action.
Bilawal is likely to arrive in Islamabad on August 3 and convene a meeting of the successful candidates and senior party leaders to formulate a strategy to give a tough time to the upcoming government.
Sources said the PPP had decided that it will not be part of any movement like the PNA of 1977 when the elected government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was removed and martial law imposed that de-railed democracy for a decade.
“It’s our principled stance that we will not be part of any movement that aims to derail the democratic system,” a senior party leader told The News.
Another senior PPP leader said the PPP had serious reservations about the 1997 elections but decided to sit in Parliament with 17 members and challenged the legitimacy of the then government of Nawaz Sharif in Parliament. He said the numerical strength of opposition parties, including the PML-N and PPP, will be over 100 and they will be able to give a tough time to the Imran-led PTI government. “The opposition enjoys a clear majority in the Senate, and the PTI government would not be in a position to get any legislation sail through the House, so it’s better to sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly rather than sit outside Parliament,” a senior PPP leader said.
Sources said the PPP committee’s foremost task was to convince all the opposition parties to use Parliament as a platform to raise voice against ‘rigging’, demand an inquiry into the ‘suspicious’ role of the Election Commission and the failure of Result Transmission System. The PPP has also decided to question delay in the announcement of election results and the failure of Result Transmission System (RTS) and Result Management System (RMS), which remained out of order for a considerable time creating doubts in the minds of the public.
In a related development, PPP senior leader Khursheed Shah and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif have established their first ever contact post-election and they are expected to meet today (Sunday) at the residence of Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Islamabad.
Sources said the two will discuss the post-election political situation and explore the possibility of future cooperation. Khursheed Shah is reaching Islamabad on Sunday (today) from Karachi. The meeting would also explore the possibilities of fielding a joint candidate for all the positions and joining hands with the other opposition parties to protest against the stealing of public mandate.
In another related development, the PPP South Punjab President Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif met in Lahore in which possibility of cooperation between the two parties came under discussion.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Naeemul Haq announced that Imran Khan will take oath as prime minister before August 14. Speaking to journalists here outside the Banigala residence of Imran Khan, Haq said President Mamnoon Hussain will summon the assembly session soon for administration of oath to the MPs-elect. He said Pakistan is facing dangers and its economy is in trouble, underscoring the need for unity. He contended that the PTI would form government at the Centre and in Punjab for which Imran Khan was working day and night.
Haq said they are in contact with independent legislators-elect and within a day or two the nation would hear good news. He vehemently denied facing any crisis with regard to formation of government at the Centre and in Punjab.
“Contacts have already been made, while Jahangir Tareen is visiting Punjab and approaching independent lawmakers-elect,” he maintained. To a question, he condemned what he called the negative role played by the MMA President Fazlur Rehman and charged that he was still demonstrating a negative mindset. He said the MMA leader should feel the nation’s pulse and act accordingly.
Haq said there were no differences between Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen. He said if Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan wanted to approach them then he was welcome although the PTI had not contacted him so far.
Meanwhile, four lawmakers-elect of the Punjab Assembly met Imran Khan at Banigala and joined the PTI. They claimed that they had been offered cash and ministries by the PML-N, but they decided in the larger interest of the public. This joining brings the tally of PTI MPAs-elect to 127.