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Thursday March 28, 2024

Iftar dinner: Incompetent rulers weakening country

By Asim Yasin
May 20, 2019

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties on Sunday termed the country's situation precarious, adding that the incompetent rulers are weakening the country and they have gathered as it was a national obligation to take care of the country.

The opposition parties' leaders gathered at Iftar Dinner hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and announced an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by Maulana Fazalur Rehman after Eidul Fitr to decide the mode of protest inside and outside the Parliament.

“We have decided to hold the APC after Eidul Fitr and its date will be announced later on. The opposition will come out with joint strategy to hold protest against anti-people policies as the government has completely failed to deliver,” said Bilawal along with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Aftab Sherpao of QWP, Mian Iftikhar Hussain of ANP, Hasil Bizenjo of the National Party, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini of BNP (Mengal), Sardar Shafiq of BNP (Awami), Moshin Dawar of the PTM.

Addressing the press conference, Bilawal said, “We will record protest inside and outside parliament after Eid.” He said every single political party will hold separate protests against the anti-people policies adopted by the incumbent government. He said the opposition would devise a joint strategy regarding the protest movement in the APC.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that it was not her first meeting with Bilawal as he came to condole with the death of her mother with his father and also visited the jail to inquire about the health of Nawaz Sharif, which was a good gesture.

She said she thinks that CoD helped complete the tenures of the two democratic governments. “Due to CoD, two civilian governments gave respect to vote and there was need to put more things in the Charter,” she said.

Maulana Fazalur Rehman said incompetence of the people ruling the country has weakened it. “Today’s Iftar dinner was meaningful as all political leadership of the opposition was on the same page,” he said.

He said, “I would like to thank Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari for inviting all opposition parties on the Iftar dinner and providing an opportunity for everyone to sit together and devise a joint strategy over the issues.” He said that the date for the APC would be announced after Eidul Fitr.

Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi said, “Today we did not talk about the ongoing self-proclaimed accountability. The slogan of the accountability is always raised in the dictatorship and now in the democracy and we will face it." He said the government has failed to resolve public problems and people have lost all hopes.

Hasil Bizanjo said the whole opposition gathered at the Iftar dinner and agreed to hold the APC to come out with a strategy. “The APC will also come out with the strong opposition alliance,” he said.

He said the there was no need to fall this government which already is falling, adding had the opposition wanted to fall this government, it would have been matter of days. “But we wanted resolve problems, economic, strategic, foreign policy and all other issues,” he said.

Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherppao said all opposition parties will gather at the APC to come out from the crisis.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain of the ANP said the incompetent government has been imposed in the country and Imran Khan is a liar. He said the APC would foil the establishment game.

Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar said the state should be run according to Constitution. "The state of Pakistan can no more be run by defying the Constitution,” he said.

He said, "We all have consensus over one point that all policies should be made by the Parliament."

In a reply to a question, Bilawal said the people of the country were drowning in the Tsunami of the price hike as all the commodities were out of reach of the people, even the medicines. “It seems that the government did not have any sympathy with the poor of the country,” he said.

He said all the opposition parties were on the same page to formulate a joint strategy to bring the country out of crisis. On the Charter of Democracy, Bialwal said it was a revolutionary document and during the election campaign, the selectors were in action. “The new generation of PPP and PML-N is now in politics and this is time to take inputs from other political parties,” he said.

He said due to the CoD, two civilian governments completed their tenure in last 10 years.

In a reply to another question, Bilawal said the PPP narrative is very clear as the PPP always believes in the supremacy of the civilian rule.

He said the PPP has its own manifesto and its ideology is Pakistan. “The people were protesting due to price hike and people were also losing their jobs,” he said adding that even today media workers were also protesting against unemployment.

The Iftar dinner attended by PML-N delegation including Shahid Khaqan Abbassi, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, Mariyam Auranagzeb, Chief of QWP Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Secretary General Jammat-e-Islami Liaquat Baloch, ANP delegation headed by Aimal Asfandyar Wali, Zahid Khan and Miain Iftikhar, Moshin Dawar and Ali Wazir of the PTM, Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini, and Sardar Shafiq and JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman.

While PPP delegation include Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Sherry Rehman, Farhatullah Babar, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, Senator Mustafa Kokhar.