PDM to contest by-polls

LAHORE: The leaders of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Friday announced at a press conference that member parties of the alliance will take part in the by-elections, but decision related to the Senate elections will be taken later.

Prior to the press briefing, the PDM held a meeting at Jati Umra in Lahore to make final decisions regarding the future course of action of its anti-government campaign. Speaking to journalists, the PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the alliance is "is stronger than before, adding that rumours about conflicts within the party are false."

The JUI-F chief announced that the PDM will hold a long march to Rawalpindi or Islamabad, depending on the unfolding political compulsions the platform is giving priority to. He asked the premier to resign within a month, and long march date will be decided if he failed to resign.

“As announced earlier, all members of PDM parties will submit their resignations to their respective party leaderships and today (Friday) the PDM meeting was informed that all resignations have been received, which showed that one of the PDM’s goals has been achieved,” he said.

“We are united on the point that the establishment has made the country hostage by converting it into a deep state,” he said, adding that Imran Khan was a puppet, and those who rigged the elections and brought Imran Khan into power are the real culprits. “Today, we want to make it clear that we consider the establishment and its leadership as the real culprits and from now onwards, we will openly criticise them and it is up to them that they decide to continue their role in the internal politics of the country or to perform their constitutional duties,” he stated.

Fazlur Rehman said that Pakistan Army is our army. “We respect our generals and the army is our defence power but when this defence power indulges into politics and goes beyond its constitutional role, the country faces turmoil,” he said.

The Maulana said Pakistan is facing constitutional, economic, legal and politicalcrisis, which is the result of the overstepping. He also announced to stage a sit-in in front of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Islamabad to protest delay in the PTI’s foreign funding case.

“On January 19, the PDM will hold a protest demonstration outside the office of the Election Commission and we are also scheduling protests outside the offices of NAB because we believe that NAB is an organisation, which is only being used against the opposition,” announced the Maulana.

Talking about the meeting of PDM, he said it was held in a very cordial environment and all issues were discussed on a serious note. He said the fake news about cracks within PDM have died down.

He said he wanted to tell the media that like all deprived segments of the society, the media and media persons were also affected and suffering from the policies of the selected government. “We are standing shoulder to shoulder with media and they should also understand this besides playing role in highlighting the efforts of PDM in restoring true democracy in the country,” he said, and maintained that the media should broadcast the voices being raised against the government as well as for the supremacy of the Constitution with full force.

Replying to a question about arrests, he said that the PDM has decided to turn towards jails and they are not afraid of being arrested. About his meeting with Muhammad Ali Durrani, he said he came unscheduled to the place where he stays and briefed him about his philosophy about national dialogue, but he rejected that proposal.

Sources said that during Friday’s meeting, Fazlur Rehman convinced the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other parties to go for a long march while he accepted their demand of taking part in by-polls and Senate elections. Ends

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that even if there was a by-election one day before the deadline of the long march, the field will not be left open for a fake government.

Talking to media after the PDM meeting, Maryam said that neither the PPP, PML-N or any other party in the PDM has yet taken any decision on the Senate polls. She said there was still time in the Senate polls so they can take some time for discussion.

“Efforts are being made to contact us,” she claimed. To a question on fielding joint candidates in the by-elections, she said that the PDM candidates could come but no final decision has been taken yet. “If a decision is taken, local politics will be take consideration,” she added. Maryam said that it was the duty of the people to send the government home.