JUI-F chief to visit Karachi to launch ongoing protest’s Plan C on Nov 29

KARACHI: After consultation with provincial leaders of the nine-party alliance for implementing the Plan C of an ongoing anti-government protest in Sindh province, the leaders of provincial Rahbar Committee have decided that the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will inaugurate the new series of protest by leading the first sit-in outside the provincial office of the Election Commission of Pakistan in Karachi on November 29.

On Friday, Sindh leaders of the nine-party alliance in a press conference had announced to organize a protest outside the ECP’s Sindh office in Karachi on November 26 in the context of the foreign funding case against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

However, the leaders decided to change the date to Nov 29 to mark completion of a month of the ongoing protest against the federal government. On Saturday, the JUI-F chief Rehman telephoned Pakistan People’s Party supremo Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to discuss the new phase of the ongoing anti-government protest.

“After consultation of leaders of the component parties of the nine-parties’ alliance, the date has now changed from November 26 to November 29 and the JUI-F chief Rehman will especially attend the sit-in to officially launch the Plan-C on the ongoing anti-government protest,” said Sami Swati, the JUI-F’s provincial deputy secretary information.

However, leaders of the alliance said that the party changed the date of protest outside the ECP intentionally. “Because of hearing of foreign funding case against the ruling PTI will start on Nov 26, opposition parties did not want to give an impression that they are influencing the election body by organizing a sit-it outside its provincial office in Karachi on the same day,” said a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Karachi leader, who was part of the consultation.

Also, the JUI-F supremo is visiting the Sindh province to attend the death anniversary of its slain provincial leader and former senator Dr. Khalid Mehmood Soomro in Sukkur on November 28. “We decided to take advantage of Rehman’s presence in the city and initiate a new series of protests by him to get maximum media attention,” the PML-N leader said.

The JUI-F, the Pakistan People's Party, PML-N, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, the National Party, Qaumi Watan Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan and Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith are part of the opposition alliance. Sindh leaders of the opposition parties in a meeting announced a provincial Rahbar Committee – a decision-making body of the alliance -- to implement the ongoing anti-government campaign’s Plan C, including holding a protest outside the ECP Sindh office and organising protests at divisional level in the province. They had renewed their demands for Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down, terming his government illegitimate and incompetent.

The JUI-F provincial leaders have also asked district organizations in Karachi to mobilize the people and show great strength in the Nov 29 protest outside the ECP office.