PDM meeting likely to be held till 10th

ISLAMABAD: Amid speculations about its internal issues, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) has started efforts to hold a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) till August 10 to discuss a strategy to mount political pressure on the Imran-led government, sources told The News here on Wednesday.

The sources said former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has held a meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence few days back. “Both Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Maulana Fazlur Rehman discussed the issue of holding a PDM meeting. The JUIF chief maintained that the meeting should be held at the earliest, especially after postponement of scheduled public meetings of the PDM. Abbasi then shared the details of a meeting with the PMLN leadership after which PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif and Fazl talked on phone on Tuesday.”

The sources said Fazl showed his desire to hold the meeting as soon as possible but Shehbaz underlined the need to make consultations with all component parties before fixing any date for this purpose. It is pertinent to mention here that the PDM has postponed its public meetings in Karachi and Islamabad due to rising cases of coronavirus. But insiders believe that the latest political developments have pushed the PDM to the back burner, especially after lack of interest by Shehbaz in the ‘politics of confrontation’. He has recently highlighted the need for ‘national reconciliation’ to steer the country out of the crisis.

“Though the PMLN leadership is being criticized to simultaneously pursue two strategies - confrontation and reconciliation, it still appears to do the same for quite some time. On the one hand, Shehbaz will continue moving ahead with his ‘reconciliation’ narrative while on the other, the PMLN will mount pressure on the government through the PDM platform and pursue its confrontational politics,” the sources said.

Talking to The News, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said: “There is only one narrative in the PMLN and every one pursues it on the direction of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Our party members give their opinion but they always accept the decision taken by Nawaz Sharif. The consultation is under way and we are going to decide the date for the next PDM meeting today or tomorrow. The leadership of component parties will attend the meeting and evolve a joint strategy against the government.”