A day after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) announced to launch 'Azadi March' to Islamabad in a bid to lock down the federal capital and topple the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in October, the mainstream opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday refused to render support to the JUI-F's anti-government plan.
The development transpired during a meeting of Rahbar Committee, an anti-government alliance of opposition parties except Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), presided over by the panel's Convenor Akram Durrani from the JUI-F.
According to sources in the opposition, the committee's meeting ended inconclusive as Durrani failed to get assurances from the PML-N and PPP representatives that their parties would support the anti-government Azadi March. Ahsan Iqbal from the PML-N, Naiyyar Bokhari and Farhatullah Babar from the PPP and leaders from smaller opposition groups attended the meeting.
Sensing the lack of support from the major opposition parties, Emir JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman had proceeded to announce unilaterally after chairing a party event, earlier on Sunday that the JUI-F would launch an Azadi March in October. Fazl had also said that the proposal to launch Azad March would be put before the opposition parties in Rahbar Committee's Monday meeting.
Sources in the opposition said that the Azadi March proposal was discussed in the Rahbar Committee's meeting but the delegates from the PML-N and PPP refused to assure the JUI-F of their parties' complete support for the march. They, sources said, told Durrani that the matter would be discussed with the respective party leaderships before taking a final decision.
"Fazl tried to play it wise by putting the ball in PML-N and PPP's court. Without first having the matter discussed in the Rahbar Committee, he announced from the forum of JUI-F to launch Azadi March. This is because Fazl was fearing lack of support from major opposition parties and he unilaterally announced Azadi March to put pressure on the PML-N and PPP. But this strategy has failed to work and there is a cold response from the PML-N and PPP," said a source privy to the matter.
"At a time when the leaderships of both parties are facing serious cases of corruption, money laundering, fake accounts and other offences, and are said to be in backdoor contacts with the 'powerful quarters,' they can hardly afford to do aggressive politics, something Fazl does not subscribe to," the source said.
Addressing a press conference after the Rahbar Committee's meeting, Durrani said the Rahbar Committee demands immediate resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. "It would be unfair to give more chance to this government. One year has gone past and that's enough." Durrani skipped commenting on whether the opposition parties supported JUI-F's Azadi March.
A Charter of Demand from the joint opposition would be prepared and discussed in the All Parties Conference (APC) being held on August 29, he said. In an indication that all is not well within the opposition, Durrani said, "Every opposition party has its own charter of demand. That would be discussed in APC among other issues."
Durrani generally avoided sharing with the media the specifics of the Rahbar Committee meeting and, instead, criticised the federal government's Kashmir policy, amidst the reports that opposition, including the JUI-F, is gradually backtracking from its anti-government plans.
A week earlier on August 19, amidst the absence of the heads of two major opposition parties; President PML-N Shehbaz Sharif and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the joint opposition's APC had announced to "come to Islamabad to end this government," but there was no discussion on Azadi March and no mention of the timeframe for coming to Islamabad.
Held under the chair of Fazl, the JUI-F emir, the August 19 APC had actually decided to prepare a charter of demands before coming to the federal capital in a bid to dislodge the government.
Shehbaz Sharif expressed his inability to attend the APC citing 'acute backache', it is learnt. Bilawal was on a tour to Skardu and was unavailable for APC.
The first APC of the opposition parties was held on June 26 that had decided to bring no-confidence motion against chairman Senate. But in what came as a major setback to the opposition forces in the first APC, the PML-N and the PPP, turned down the APC's proposal to quit the parliament- in a scenario that seriously undermined the efforts of smaller political groups to launch a full-fledged anti-government campaign.
Moreover, JI, an opposition party that contested the last year's general elections in alliance with JUI-F, under the joint umbrella of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), refused to be part of the APC and did not attend the conclave.
The Rahbar Committee was formed in the first APC. The panel was tasked to ensure implementation of the decisions taken in the conclave. However, the key decisions taken in the first APC remain far from materialization which also included the decision that opposition parties would hold joint public gatherings in all the four provinces against the federal government.
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