LAHORE: The leaders of main opposition parties held back-to-back meetings on Tuesday afternoon and the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN), the Pakistan People's Party and Fazlur Rehman agreed to throw the government out of power after finalizing a strategy in the post-Eidul-Azha All Parties Conference (APC).
"We have evolved consensus to hold a meeting of Rahber Committee after Eid to finalize the agenda for the APC," said Shahbaz Sharif. While Bilawal announced enthusiastically: "Shahbaz Sharif has recovered and is ready to lead us." Shahbaz quipped immediately, saying: "I will put this responsibility on the strong shoulders of Bilawal Bhutto."
Shahbaz said they have discussed the political situation in detail. The PPP and the PML-N and other opposition parties have evolved consensus that this government has damaged the economy during the last two years.
"Inflation is skyrocketing in Pakistan which is registering a low world over after the COVID-19. The government has no answer to the price-hike. The sugar price has jumped to Rs 100. It is rare in the history of the country that wheat crisis happened right after harvesting. Petroleum crisis is evident to all," he said. According to him, inflation has made the life of a common man miserable. A falling GDP has led to unemployment. No investor is ready to invest in Pakistan. This incompetent and selected government is not able to control the situation," he added. He said the opposition is not asking for any relief from the government on NAB. "The opposition is facing atrocities of NAB-Niazi connivance which is open to the whole world. The Supreme Court verdict has exposed the NAB. We are not afraid of accountability, but we are against the worst witch-hunting in the name of accountability," he added.
On the other hand, he said, no one is asking about the embezzlement in the BRT project. Similar is the situation of other issues. He said the viewpoints of Islamic Ideology Council and Bar Councils are clear on the NAB. "Imran Khan and Pakistan cannot go together, therefore, we should get rid of him," he said. According to him, the politics of sit-ins has played havoc with Pakistan. We have paid a heavy price in the form of cancellation of the visit of the Chinese President when Imran was holding a sit-in in Islamabad. "We believe in democratic struggle," he clarified.
Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said he was thankful to Shahbaz Sharif for inviting him. He also expressed satisfaction over the improvement in Shahbaz's health. He said the government had become a risk for the country. "We will have to throw it out to put the economic house of the country in order," he said, and added that mafias are active in this country and daylight robberies are taking place. He said no other government had offered NROs like the present government. According to him, the opposition is highlighting the issues of the common man and there would be good news from the APC for the public. "All options regarding an in-house change or midterm polls will be brought to the APC table," he said. Bilawal criticised Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for "offering an NRO to Kulbhushan Jadhav". He also lambasted him for trying to become a hero on the issue of Raymond Davis. According to him, the NAB Ordinance of the government has failed. The opposition is pressing upon changes in the Ordinance in line with the Supreme Court and Islamic Ideology Council viewpoints. "We will support neither FATF nor NAB if it is against human rights," he said, and added that the government has tried to play a trick in the name of FATF as the government is vying for dictatorial powers. It has no interest in stopping FATF to relegate Pakistan to the black list from the grey list, he claimed.
Bilawal said Imran's sit-ins were without people. "But we will be half our way and the government would be out of power," he vowed. Earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met JUI-F Chief Fazlur Rehman at a hotel and later went to meet PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif at his Model Town residence. Speaking to media after their meeting, Bilawal said they talked about the APC scheduled after Eid-ul-Azha. A decision pertaining to the midterm elections would be made through the platform of a united Opposition, he added, noting that they wished to resolve the nation's challenges as soon as possible. "Whatever we talked about today, its results will begin to appear after Eid," he said. On the other hand, Fazl underlined that the Rahbar Committee would formulate proposals as an agenda on the basis of which the APC would be convened. "In the last elections [of 2018], the common man's mandate was stolen. We want that back," the JUI-F leader stressed. "The steps the government took over the past two years have raised questions about the survival of the state," he added. "Once [Prime Minister] Imran Khan departs, our first priority will be to revive the country's economy," he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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