Opposition to unveil joint action plan soon: Shahbaz

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif has said a joint course of action against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will be announced in the next few days amid a renewed effort by opposition parties to mount a united front against the government.

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president made the remarks after a meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his Islamabad residence on Tuesday. Other PML-N lawmakers that attended the meeting were Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Saad Rafique.

“We will announce a course of action in a few days,” Shahbaz said at a press conference alongside Maulana Fazl following the meeting. “We had a good conversation and are in consensus,” he said. “We will sit together with other opposition parties and take this consultation session forward.”

He expressed his resolve to unite all opposition parties and improve mutual consultations among them, adding that “encouraging discussions” were held regarding the political situation and other important issues.

He also announced that the opposition’s All Parties Conference (APC) will soon be convened and “all parties will be part of it”. The opposition leader lashed out at the government, criticising it for the sugar, wheat and medicine scandals, which he said surfaced in the PTI’s tenure. “The prices of medicines are skyrocketing. Did this happen during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif? Global oil prices are at the lowest level, but prices have surged in Pakistan. What else should we tell the nation?”

He said power cuts in the country now last as long as 20 hours a day, “but with Nawaz Sharif’s leadership we ended load-shedding before the 2018 elections, but today load-shedding has returned”.

When Fazlur Rehman spoke, he said he had a productive meeting with Shahbaz and that the opposition was “well on its way to arriving at a common platform”. “A divided opposition is not in the interests of Pakistan and the people,” he added.

“It would be better to resolve differences and come up with a joint strategy against the government,” Fazl said, adding that opposition parties were firm on working together. “We want all the opposition parties united on a joint strategy,” Fazl added. The JUI-F chief said: “A meeting of small opposition parties — and the APC — will be convened and the reservations of all parties will be addressed.” He added that a meeting of the smaller opposition parties had already been arranged for Tuesday but was postponed due to Mir Hasil Bizenjo’s death. The meeting will now be held at a later date.