Six-party opposition alliance to stage anti-govt rally on Feb 27

Announcing a new round of protests against the federal government, Sindh leaders of the six-party alliance of the opposition said on Thursday the coalition would show its strength in Karachi by organising a mammoth public gathering on February 27.

Rashid Mehmood Soomro of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Mufti Ghous Sabri of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Nazir Jan of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Abdul Majid Sajidi of the National Party, Sardar Ahmed Nawaz of the Qaumi Watan Party and Muhammad Ashraf Qureshi of the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees met at the residence of JUP central secretary general Allama Owais Noorani to discuss the strategy for the third phase of the anti-government protests.

The participants of the meeting renewed their demands for Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down, terming his government illegitimate and incompetent, and said the opposition’s latest protest movement would sink the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government.

They termed the latest movement a continuation of the Azadi March. “The government through its incompetence has been unable to fulfil any promise made to the people of Pakistan. The people are in utter despair; therefore, it is important to address issues,” he said.

The participants had unanimously decided to change the date of the public gathering from February 23 to February 27 because of the PSL matches in the city. “Because of the PSL matches in the city, we have decided not to conduct any political activity from February 20 to February 23,” Soomro told The News.

The alliance has also changed the venue of the public gathering from Hakeem Shaheed Park in Gulshan-e-Iqbal to New MA Jinnah Road opposite the Islamia College. “The opposition is among the people and the component parties of the six-party alliance are fully prepared to launch the third phase of anti-government protests.”

For the new round of the movement, the JUI-F leader claimed to have garnered strong support from people to shake the government in case major opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Awami National Party, abandoned the opposition’s coalition.