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Thursday March 28, 2024

‘PDM march on March 23rd at all costs’: Sending govt home constitutional, religious obligation, says Fazl

The PDM meeting also rejected the government’s request for rescheduling the March 23 long march

By Muhammad Anis
January 26, 2022
Pakistan Democratic Movement Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addressing a press conference in Islamabad on January 25, 2022 after an all-party session. — YouTube screengrab
Pakistan Democratic Movement Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addressing a press conference in Islamabad on January 25, 2022 after an all-party session. — YouTube screengrab

ISLAMABAD: The leadership of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has said the ‘artificial honesty’ of the PTI-led regime stands exposed in report of the Transparency International (TI). “The Transparency International has shown the mirror of ‘artificial honesty’ to the PTI government,” PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said while sharing observations of the PDM's leadership, which met here on Tuesday.

He said the PDM march will be held on March 23rd at all costs, adding sending the incumbent government home was a constitutional and Shariah obligation. The government had already been proven as the most corrupt, failed and incompetent in the country's history, he said.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Maulana Fazl said the government should be ashamed of the fact that the country further slipped from 117th to 140th place in TI’s corruption perception index, adding “But still the government desires to rig the next general elections with the support of machines.” He, however, said the people have awakened to their plans of rigging and they would be thrown out of the power corridors.

The PDM meeting also rejected the government’s request for rescheduling the March 23 long march and decided to go ahead with the anti-inflation protest coinciding the Pakistan Day. He said there was no question of clash of timings in Pakistan Day Parade and long march on March 23. “The Pakistan Day Parade ends in morning while we will reach Islamabad after Zuhr prayers,” he said.

Moreover, the PDM chief also questioned as to why the government had planned the OIC session at that time when the opposition had already announced the long march. The PDM unanimously decided against rescheduling the March 23 long march and it was decided that the PPP should also be allowed to participate in the march if its leadership decides so.

To a question, he said following the announcement of March 23 long march, they would focus on all the opposition parties and civil society that it should participate in the long march. “But we believe that we will not open any front against any other opposition party,” he said.

PMLN President Shahbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Ahsan Iqbal attended the PDM meeting through video link. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Awais Noorani, Abdul Maalik of National Party, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Maryam Aurengzeb, Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Hafiz Hamdadullah and others were also present.

Fazlur Rehman said no final words could be uttered on the option of no-confidence move unless all the opposition parties are on one page on it. However, during the meeting, the PDM chief suggested that there would be no need of no-confidence move if the government’s allies join the opposition. Fazlur Rehman was of the view that Prime Minister Imran Khan had been found guilty in the foreign funding case after hiding 22 accounts. “How can there be justice when a person not receiving basic salary was disqualified and an individual hiding 22 accounts is being given protection,” he said

He said the PDM leadership demands that the ECP should hear the foreign funding case on day-to-day basis, disqualify Imran Khan and ban his party. He said not only the whole family but the whole party was corrupt and they were a creation of corruption while illegitimate resources gave birth to them. “A government which comes to power because of support of some others cannot be called representative of people,” he said.

Fazlur Rehman said the PDM leadership had decided that it would not accept conduct of general elections with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as this was name of another RTS. He pointed out that the PDM also feels that the presidential form of system which calls as “Alien’s Proposal" had always been form of dictatorship in the country whether it was in form of Sikandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq or Pervez Musharraf. “It seems this proposal is a conspiracy to do away with the Constitution,” he said.

Fazlur Rehman said the PDM had pledged that it would not allow to fulfill the illegitimate proposal of the presidential form of system in the country. “We fought for existence of the country in the past and will continue to strive for safeguarding the Constitution,” he said.

He maintained that the presidential form of system having a black history had also resulted in the break-up of country, could never be acceptable to them. He said the PDM observed that the agriculture sector has been backbone of the country’s economy but for the first time in history, the incumbent government created the crisis of fertilizer.

He said rights of provinces of Balochistan and Sindh and people should be recognised whether those related to islands or Reko Diq mines. "We also demand that much-talked-about Reko Diq agreement should also be made public,” he said, adding decisions like Reko Diq mines could not be taken with the will of the people and such trends created a sense of deprivation and was highly damaging for the national unity.

Fazlur Rehman said with the merger of Fata with KP, it was promised that Rs100 billion annually would be spent on tribal areas for the next 10 years but little over Rs60 billion has been given to them in the last four years. “The people of Fata have been deceived,” he said.

Fazlur Rehman said it was the voice of the PDM that Imran Khan and Usman Buzdar should resign over the Murree tragedy. “It is not sufficient that action is taken only against a few government officials, rather Imran Khan and Usman Buzdar be held guilty and they should resign,” he said. He observed that snowfall was every year’s phenomenon but the whole system was sleeping when the Murree tragedy occurred.

He said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been given in economic slavery of the IMF and the country was being made a colony, saying that the PDM would not allow any compromise on the country’s sovereignty.

He said the price hike and inflation had broken the back of the poor while the government was unable to hear people’s crying voices and the country was mired in crises. “Rulers who cannot meet economic needs of people have no right to rule over the country,” he said.

Prior to start of the meeting, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had said the PTI-led government has "lost its moral standing," adding that the government allies are also hesitant to cooperate due to PTI's "anti-people policies." The JUI chief said the opposition should hold serious talks with all government-allied parties and convince them of their stance against the government. If all allied parties support the opposition in the House, the motion of no confidence would not be required,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Tuesday said the multiparty opposition alliance (PDM) since its inception could not develop a consensus on a single point.

"PDM is a dead horse, it makes unsuccessful attempts to recreate the movement after every one or two months," he said in response to the PDM meeting held here. He said the PDM had no work to perform, so, it arranged a meeting after every month. Farrukh said the government had no problem from PDM [political] modeling show and cat walk. He asked the PDM leaders why they made a U-turn on the decision on en masse resignation from Parliament.

He took a jibe at JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and described him as the 12th player of Pakistan politics which ruined everything to satisfy his own desires. His desires seemed to be dying since 2018, he added. He said the JUIF chief should be held accountable for the foreign funding received by his party.

Those who were conspiring against the democratic system would never succeed, he said, adding that the entire nation was observing who was pursuing the agenda of enemy. He said the Joint Services Pakistan Day Parade on March 23 and participation of high-level delegates by the friendly countries always strike the enemy. Commenting on the use of Electronic Voting Machines, Farrukh said it would ensure transparency in holding elections in a fair and transparent manner.