PPP leader says opposition to launch protest after Eidul Fitr

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Khanzada Khan has said that all the major opposition political parties will launch protest movement after Eidul Fitr for which all arrangements had been finalised.

Talking to reporters here on Saturday, he said that the wrong policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rulers had made lives of common people miserable.

“The unprecedented price-hike, unemployment and lawlessness have created unrest and disappointment among the people,” he remarked.

The PPP leader observed that the people who voted for the PTI were now disappointed as the rulers have forgotten their commitments, which they made with the people before the last general election.

Contrary to their tall claims and hollow slogans, Khanzada Khan said, the government surrendered sovereignty of the country to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Instead of giving relief to the nation, he said, the prices of petroleum product, electricity, gas and other daily use items were increased.

The PPP leader said the government snatched jobs from the people and followed diktats of the IMF, which has appointed its employees on the important institutions.

Condemning undemocratic decisions of the government, he said it used force against his party workers, who had accompanied party’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to NAB’s office.

Such undemocratic decisions and use of force against innocent citizens, he said, was not acceptable to them and they would force the rulers to stop dictatorial attitude.

Regarding the opposition’s protest movement, he said they would follow directives of their leader and render sacrifice for democracy and rights of people.

He said the rulers were living in a fool’s paradise to think they could harass the PPP workers through such cowardly actions.

The PPP workers and leaders, he said, had witnessed and faced military dictators in the past and rendered sacrifices but did not compromise on principles.

He said the time has come to come out on roads and force the rulers to withdraw their anti-people decisions and address the prevailing crisis.

Khanzada Khan said that he was expecting that Prime Minister Imran Khan would take the joint opposition into confidence and discuss the issues but it seemed the rulers were forcing the opposition to come out on roads.

Meanwhile, the major political parties have finalized arrangements to bring more people to Islamabad after Eidul Fitr to protest against “unprecedented price-hike and dictatorial policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government which is bent-upon on usurping all democratic rights from the citizen.

Various opposition parties have been assigned the task to bring people from their respective areas to demonstrate show of power but the final decision and arrangements would be decided in the All Parties Conference after Eidul Fitr.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal Rehman will lead the protest movement.

According to the programme, the PPP and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl will take out its workers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will concentrate on Punjab.

The Awami National Party and Qaumi Watan Party have already announced to participate in the protest movement.

PPP activists said that the PPP central leadership has directed the provincial and district presidents to send lists of the 50 workers from every union council and the party’s organizations were finalizing names of their devoted workers.

These workers, he said would offer every sacrifice during the stage wise protest movement.

He was unaware as to how long the protest movement would continue but said they would present fresh workers and replace the tired one with the passage of time but continue movement till the acceptance of their demands and directives of their central leaders.

The JUI-F activist Maulana Abdur Rehman said that his party would prove its strength and bring out main people on the call of their leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

He said his party and workers were aware of the selected Prime Minister and how his government was installed but the other opposition parties were adopting delaying tactics up till now.

He said that the people have realized the real face of the “selected Prime Minister and its government,” within few months and the people were not ready to accept such ruler more.