PDM not to invite PPP, ANP to its next meeting

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has decided in principle that it would not invite the leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) in the next meeting of leaders of its component parties, sources told The News here on Sunday.

The sources said the PDM would hold its steering committee meeting today (Monday) without two major opposition parties -- PPP and ANP -- to discuss the anti-government movement, long march and resignations from the assemblies after Eid-ul-Fitr.

The sources, who are privy to the recent contacts among former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif, confided to this correspondent that these leaders have developed a consensus that leadership of PPP and ANP would not be invited in the next meeting of leaders of component parties.

They said both Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rahman were of the view that if the PPP and ANP gave appropriate replies to the clarification sought by PDM, then they could again become its part but these parties acted against their expectations. It is pertinent to mention here that ANP and PPP had called upon its members to resign from all positions of the PDM as a protest against issuance of show cause notice to them.

The sources said Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rahman now adopted a strict stance against PPP and ANP and both of them also informed Shahbaz Sharif about it during their separate telephonic conversations with him.

Though Shahbaz Sharif holds somewhat different position regarding PPP and ANP, but he would not take any position contrary to the views of Nawaz Sharif, the sources said.

They said it would now be really tough for Maulana Fazlur Rahman to convince Shahbaz Sharif for the political stance already taken by him regarding long march and resignations from the assemblies, adding “the support from Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz will certainly help the PDM to rope in Shahbaz Sharif for its political goals and targets.” They said the PML-N has already made a strategy if PPP tries to contact Shahbaz Sharif to develop a consensus with him on the issue of resignations from the assemblies.

“If PPP thinks that it can take advantage of the ‘soft’ viewpoint of Shahbaz Sharif over resignations from the assemblies, then the PML-N will certainly have a surprise for it,” the sources said. They said Shahbaz Sharif would lead the delegation of PML-N in the next PDM meeting that would also include PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz.

When contacted, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told The News that “I have taken back invitation from the PDM leaders for meeting of the steering committee. First, we will prepare agenda items, then we will hold meeting of the PDM leaders.” To a question, he said: “At the moment, the PDM has decided not to invite PPP and ANP for next meeting of the leaders of its component parties.”