COLUMN
-By RC GANJOO
Eventually, all opposition parties in Pakistan have rolled up their sleeves against Imran Khan to get rid of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.
After a series of brainstorming discussions on the dwindling political situation in Pakistan, all opposition political parties finally reached the conclusion in All Parties Conference (APC) on 20th Sept and officially announced the name of a new front Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against the federal government.
The initiative of bringing all opposition on the same page was taken by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He stressed the need for chalking out a charter, similar to the Charter of Democracy inked by the PPP and the PML-N in 2006, to ensure that the opposition parties worked towards the same goals and abided by the agreement.
In a joint news conference of PDM addressed by, Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Shehbaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman was unanimous that the country could no longer bear Imran Khan at the helm. Maulana Fazlur Rehman said, “The alliance is aimed at getting rid of the incompetent government. The alliance will run the nationwide protest movement in an organised and coordinated manner.”
In a resolution passed by the PDM — an “alliance structure which will lead and guide nationwide protests against the anti-public and anti-nation the government in a disciplined and integrated manner”. The campaign against Imran Khan will start countrywide in which lawyers, traders, farmers, labourers, students, civil society, media and general public will participate. The protest against Imran Khan will be in a phased manner.
According to the opposition parties’ agreement, joint rallies will be held in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, and Lahore in the first phase in October and November.
Major rallies and demonstrations will be held in provincial capitals in December 2020. A full-fledged countrywide protest and Long March towards Islamabad will be held in January 2021.
The resolution urged that the institutions should not interfere in politics. “We call for new elections and a reduction in prices of essential commodities without any outside intervention. There should also be electoral reforms,” the JUI-F chief said.
The PDM rejected the option of the Presidential System and blamed the government for the fall of Kashmir. The meeting also called for lifting the “worst restrictions” on media in history and dismissing cases against journalists. The National Action Plan, CPEC, 18th Amendment, the supremacy of parliament, restoration of local bodies, cuts in the higher education budget, Aghaz-e-Haqooq (provision of rights initiative) Balochistan, restoration of civil authority in place of Frontier Corps were also part of the resolution.
The resolution demanded the formation of a Truth Commission to document the true history of Pakistan from 1947 to date.
The JUI-F chief said the incidents of terrorism had increased in the country due to the non-implementation of the National Action Plan, adding the inexperienced government. He blamed the government for jeopardizing Pak-China Economic Corridor. The resolution unanimously demanded holding of elections in Gilgit-Baltistan transparently. The PDM also ratified the resolution of the Pakistan Bar Council calling for an end to the disappearance of Pakistani nationals.
