ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Senate and Secretary General of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Nayyar Bukhari has invited Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif to come forward for putting heads together with other opposition groups in the house for drawing up a strategy to defeat the “money bill” of budget for ousting the government of Imran Khan.
The PPP is prepared to offer its good offices to make it achievable. The exercise should be carried out at the forum of the parliament as it could be done conveniently, he said. Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will dash to Charsaddah today (Sunday) to discuss the latest political situation with the ANP leadership, encompassing the developments emerging from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) summit of Saturday where no decision was taken about the return of the PPP and the ANP to the movement fold. PPP sources told The News on Saturday that Bilawal will offer condolences on the demise of ANP veteran Nasim Wali Khan who passed away early this month. It is understood that the two parties which parted ways with the PDM in the wake of differences on the question of collective resignations from the parliament immediately after the March 26 long-march to put pressure on the government for stepping down would evolve a joint strategy to draw their future line of action for the upcoming developments. The PPP leadership understands that the observations of the PDM leadership regarding the two parties future relationship with the movement upon conclusion of Saturday’s meeting were somewhat derogatory. The PPP has made up its mind not to entertain any proposal or idea mooted by Shahbaz Sharif as the representative of the PDM in the future course of action since it is not interested in accepting its present structure.
The PPP will not attend the pre-budget seminar if arranged under the auspices of Maulana’s PDM, Nayyar Hussain Bukhari made it clear in a chat with this scribe on Saturday evening. He maintained that if Shahbaz Sharif hosts such a seminar as leader of opposition in the National Assembly, he should approach PPP parliamentarians to extend invitation for the purpose as his capacity as leader of opposition would be respected. Bukhari claimed that it was decided at the time of formation of the PDM that all decisions would be made through consensus and at no point in time collective resignation’s proposal was approved in any sitting of the PDM but Maulana and Maryam Nawaz abruptly asked for it just before the D-Day for the march.
The PPP secretary general claimed that the PDM was conceived and formed by the PPP and the Saturday meeting wasn’t the PDM’s summit but a gathering of like-minded ones. He said that the PPP isn’t subservient to any party and respects others with expectations of the same.
