Amid differences over resignations: PDM’s long march put off

ISLAMABAD: The 10-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Tuesday postponed the March 26 long march after the Pakistan People’s (PPP) vetoed the decision of tendering resignations from the assemblies.

Addressing a news conference here after a six-hour meeting, PDM President Fazlur Rehman said the long march should be considered postponed until final response from the PPP on tendering resignations [from the assemblies] after consultation in the Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz accompanied him. Fazl said nine PDM parties supported the decision on linking resignations with the long march, while the PPP leaders expressed their reservations in this regard.

He said the PPP leadership sought more time for consultation with the CEC. “We will wait for their reply and by that time, the long march should be considered postponed,” Fazl said. Fazl said he did not want to address the press conference. "I came and announced the PDM decision. What more I could do," he remarked.

Later, talking to Geo News, Fazl said the PPP leadership adopted a highly undemocratic attitude, as nine PDM parties had agreed on tendering resignations but the PPP did not. However, he insisted that the PDM was still intact.

Fazl, who did not look happy with the meeting’s proceedings, left the dais soon after announcing the PDM’s decision without taking any questions from the media. Since the creation of the PDM, Fazl has been pressing on resignations [from assemblies]. He believes that the long march would be meaningless unless they took an extreme step.

Asked if the PDM should be considered divided after failing to reach a consensus on resignations, Maryam Nawaz said she did not want to speak on assumptions until they received the PPP leadership’s final response. “We will discuss at our party level whatever response comes from the PPP leadership,” she said.

She pointed out that Asif Ali Zardari, during his video link talk, opined that Mian Nawaz Sharif should return so that a joint movement against the government could be continued. However, Maryam said she opposed the proposal saying Nawaz was yet to recover and bringing him back [to the country] would mean handing him over to “murderers like Imran Khan”.

“We do not want to put the life of Nawaz Sharif blessed to him by Almighty Allah in danger,” she said. She said not only the party leaders, but also the nation did not want Nawaz Sharif to return, as they want him alive and not his body.

She said a lot of investment was made in the political leadership. “The nation still wants to benefit from the ‘vision and wisdom’ of Nawaz Sharif,” she said. She maintained that nobody has the right in demanding the return of Nawaz Sharif. “The government allowed him to leave the country after it felt that his life was in danger,” she said.

She said everybody should be aware of the sacrifices rendered by Nawaz Sharif, who left his wife on the death bed and returned to the country to face case against him besides spending the longest and toughest period in prison.

Maryam said she was a representative of Nawaz Sharif and PML-N and if anybody wanted to talk to Nawaz Sharif, they should talk to her first. Gilani told newsmen that the first decision of the PPP CEC was against giving resignations [from the assemblies]. He said the PDM leadership gave the PPP more time to go back to the CEC.

He said the PPP leadership also thanked other parties of PDM for jointly contesting the by-elections, Senate elections and polls for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman. Sources said Fazl raised the issue of defeat of his party candidate’s in the Senate deputy chairman elections.

Talking to Geo News, PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said Fazl gave the PPP time to go to the CEC and inform the PDM whether they wanted to remain with the PDM or not. "We want the PPP to consult its CEC in a couple of weeks and tell PDM of its decision," Ahsan Iqbal said, adding that it was also important to keep the PDM intact.

"You can say it’s kind of disappointment because we were hopeful of finalizing details of the long march and we also wanted to rid the people of government," he said. He said the PDM was also ready to talk on the option that first resignations should be given from the National Assembly and then quitting the provincial assemblies should be discussed and in this way the PPP could keep its Sindh government intact. "We can go ahead with the long march even if the PPP keeps its Sindh government intact," he said.