Opposition parties vow to mark July 25 as ‘Black Day’

PESHAWAR: The leaders of major opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday announced to observe July 25 as ‘Black Day’ to register protest at what they believed was alleged rigging in last year’s general election and dictatorial policies of the “inefficient and irresponsible” rulers.

The member of KP opposition’s Coordination Committee Sardar Hussain Babak, who belongs to the Awami National Party (ANP), announced the decision at a press conference.

Also present were Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)’s Asif Iqbal Daudzai, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s Syed Ayub Shah, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (N)’s Rashid Mehmood Khan, National Party’s Mukhtiar Bacha and others. Sardar Hussain Babak, who is the ANP parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly, said the July 25, 2018 election was rigged massively but the opposition parties accepted the results for the sake of democracy.

He recalled that the public mandate was stolen under a pre-planned conspiracy and this has resulted in bad governance and economic collapse. Sardar Hussain Babak said the “puppet” government would be ousted from the political landscape. He came down hard on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government policy for controlling the media, saying such censorship had never been imposed in the history of the country.

The ANP leader said the opposition parties would never accept selection in the name of election and stealing of the public mandate through a hidden hand. He recalled that only one party was allowed to campaign while others were not provided with a level playing field in the last general election. Sardar Hussain Babak said senior party members of the PPP, PML-N, JUI-F, JI and ANP are expected to attend the public gathering that would be hosted by the ANP.

He asked the people from all walks of life, including religious, political, social, the business community, media and others to come out on the ‘Black Day’ to register protest. The ANP leader criticized the federal and provincial budgets for 2019-20, saying the ‘selected’ government had made life miserable for the common man by imposing new taxes on the already poverty-stricken masses.

He said the ANP had always spoken for the rights of Pakhtuns and their better economic conditions. He said the new tax regime had caused distress among the masses. Other committee members said the public meeting of opposition parties would expose the tall claims of the rulers and it would be a no-confidence against the dictatorial policies of the government. They said the wrong and anti-people policies of the government had disappointed the nation before the end of its first year in office.