PDM partners not with Maulana on ‘march to Pindi’

ISLAMABAD: Any insistence on the part of Maulana Fazlur Rehman to take the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) long march towards Pindi may lead to a further weakening of the opposition’s alliance as the leading political parties are not keen to go to that extent.

The PDM chief has repeatedly spoken of a possible long march towards Pindi, the headquarters of the military, but this radical stance has not yet even been considered or discussed by PDM leaders.

Former speaker National Assembly and PML-N senior leader Ayaz Sadiq and ex-information minister and PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira when contacted by The News confirmed that so far the ‘long march to Pindi’ idea is merely a proposal put forward by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Both the leaders said that the proposal had never been discussed during PDM meetings and was announced by the JUI-F chief after the top leaders of the opposition alliance had held their last meeting in Lahore.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the PPP is focused on the decisions taken by the PDM and the party’s main goal is to oust the Imran Khan government. He said that as per the initial understanding between the alliance parties, the PDM long march will head to Islamabad.

Kaira said that the Maulana could still put his proposal before the PDM leadership, which would ultimately decide whether this idea is worth pursuing or not. Kaira, however, said that in his view the destination of the long march should be Islamabad. He added that the PPP also believes in constitutional rule where every institution must operate within the limits set by the Constitution.

Kaira said that any confrontation with institutions should be avoided. The PPP leader, however, said that in an alliance like the PDM different political parties express different views and offer different options but only those decisions are implemented which are agreed with consensus.

Ayaz Sadiq when approached also did not seem to favour a long march towards Pindi. He said that such a proposal is just an idea of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Sadiq explained that such a proposal needs the approval of all the PDM parties to become policy.

Most political observers believe that the PDM has been weakened since the marked softening of its earlier far more aggressive strategy, largely because of the divisions within its ranks. This weakening of the opposition alliance has been to the advantage of the Imran Khan government.

The PDM initially wanted new elections after ousting the Imran Khan government before the Senate elections. However, now the PDM is taking part in the by-elections. The alliance has also decided to take part in the Senate elections. There is also no clear idea of when the long march to Islamabad will take place. Even the en bloc resignations, which were initially expected before the Senate elections, are now rarely discussed by the opposition alliance.