The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has endorsed the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) decision of submitting resignations of all lawmakers by December 31 to the party leadership, a private TV channel reported.
“We have set the January 31 deadline for [PM Imran Khan] to resign or else we will force you to go home,” Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said in a media briefing after chairing the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Karachi on Tuesday.
The top leadership of PPP supported the idea of contesting the upcoming Senate elections against the ruling PTI instead of stepping down from the legislative assemblies, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said. The party’s high-level huddle discussed four-point agenda, including the en masse resignation of PPP lawmakers from the National Assembly and Senate on the call of the PDM. “We believe that the opposition parties can perform better if they jointly contest the Senate elections against the PTI,” he added.
The meeting was also reportedly attended by former president and the party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari via a video link.
Earlier sources said that the PPP CEC lamented PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s absence from Larkana to commemorate the 13th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not attend Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary due to local politics,” the leaders said at the meeting, according to sources. The CEC noted that Fazl did not attend the former prime minister’s death anniversary; however, he wanted PPP lawmakers to resign from assemblies on his call.
According to sources, during the discussion at the party’s CEC meeting, legal experts said that the opposition lawmakers’ resignations would not affect the Senate elections. The legal experts told the CEC that in the event the lawmakers were to resign, the future course of action is unclear.
The party’s CEC session chaired by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari decided to launch a contact campaign with the peasants, lawyers, traders and doctor organizations. “We are determined to take all democratic forces along,” Bilawal said at the meeting. “We have set up the PDM and will take it ahead with consensus,” he added.
The members of the PPP CEC while taking a clear and unequivocal stand said that the party cannot follow anyone’s dictation and the democratic forces should not be fooled by anyone. Sources privy to the party said that the meeting decided to take part in the Senate elections and by-polls to give tough time to the government.
The participants further said that Nawaz Sharif should return to Pakistan and be part of the long march and the option of resignations could only be considered on the return of the PML-N supremo.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that neither will the PML-N resign from assemblies nor will Nawaz Sharif return to Pakistan. In an informal conversation with the media about the Senate elections and the opposition’s participation in the polls, he said that if the PPP decides to participate, then it would be natural for PML-N to do so as well. “If the PPP partakes in the Senate elections, then PML-N will be pressurised to take part in the elections too,” he said.
