PDM leaves door open for PPP, ANP to return to fold

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday gave estranged parties the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) an opportunity to return to the opposition alliance after the two broke away citing show-cause notices issued to them by the anti-government coalition’s leadership.

Fazlur Rehman, flanked by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal, and Qaumi Watan Party’s Aftab Sherpao, appeared to strike a conciliatory tone at a press conference, where he invited the PPP and ANP to reconsider their decision to part ways with the opposition alliance.

The news conference came a day after the PPP announced its departure from the PDM and a week after the ANP withdrew from the coalition. In a fiery media talk following the party’s Central Executive Committee’s meeting on Monday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded an “unconditional apology” from the PDM to the ANP and PPP for the “obnoxious” issuance of the show-cause notices.

In the notices, the PDM demanded explanations from the PPP and ANP for manoeuvring Yousuf Raza Gilani into the Senate opposition leader’s slot, with the help of government allies Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). “There is no concept of show-cause notices in democratic alliances,” Bilawal had said. He had also reportedly ripped up the notice in the meeting.

On Tuesday, the PPP submitted their resignations to Maulana Fazlur Rehman. “Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has given in written final approval of the resignations which the party Secretary General Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari delivered at the residence of PDM chief,” said a press release.

In the press conference, the PDM chief said: “The PDM was not formed so that we bicker over some position or the other. We have seen many challenges through and were always able to sort things out with dialogue and mutual understanding. Even today, the PPP and ANP have the opportunity to review their decision.”

“All political parties have equal status in PDM,” Maulana Fazl said, adding candidates for chairman Senate, deputy chairman and leader of opposition in Senate were decided by consensus. He, however, said: “Even today we keep in mind that great purpose of this forum. The PDM is an alliance for serious purposes.”

He also said unnecessarily “making it (the notices) a matter of honour” was not practical. He said: “We will continue to wait for them.” He also said the PDM “would not get bogged down in rhetoric” and that was final. He, however, said the alliance did not expect the PPP to receive help from the BAP and defended the sending of the show-cause notices as a “right to seek clarification”.

“They have got our answer and now we expect them to demonstrate maturity,” he added. Maulana Fazl also said he was postponing advancing on the resignations sent to him by the PPP and ANP.

Reacting to the PDM presser, PPP’s Punjab president Qamar Zaman Kaira said the PML-N had 17 votes in the Senate and “we have 21 votes”. “The facts should not be distorted. Coalitions never issue a show-cause notice.”