Efforts are afoot for a possible joint anti-government movement under the umbrella of a "grand opposition alliance" after Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari ended his 18-month-long absence from the country. PPP sources privy to the development told Business Recorder that the party's co-chairman is expected to not only make 'important' announcements on the eve of the ninth death anniversary of the party's slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto, but is also likely to formally invite other opposition parties to join its anti-government movement.
The idea of a 'grand opposition alliance' was also discussed in a Sunday meeting between PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. PPP insiders, however, maintained that PML-Q chief, during the meeting, insisted on a 'grand alliance' on a minimum agenda and also offered his services to play an important role in reaching out to other opposition parties including PTI and MQM. PML-Q was part of the PTI's 2014 sit-in and also had a working relationship with MQM during Musharraf government, they added.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), that has emerged as the second largest opposition political party in terms of number of votes secured in 2013 and in subsequent by-elections in provinces other than Sindh, is reluctant to extend its support at this stage given PPP's support during the 126-day long sit-in in 2014 to bail out the ruling PML-N.
Responding to a question during a media talk on Monday, PTI chairman Imran Khan said his party was waiting for PPP's strategy, which it is likely to announce on Tuesday (today).
"Let's see what the PPP is going to announce on Tuesday, then we would be in a position to respond," Imran Khan said, when asked about the possibility of a joint opposition alliance. When contacted, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI vice-chairman, said that if the PPP is going to give a clear message on Tuesday, there could be a possibility to speak further on a future agenda. He said the two parties have almost similar positions on various issues but pointed out the trust deficit that exists between the two parties.
Talking to Business Recorder, PPP's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will announce the future strategy of the party on Tuesday with regard to the government's reluctance to fulfil his four demands. "It is not appropriate for me to speak on the proposed strategy before the announcement which will be made by the party chairman," he added.
With regard to a 'grand alliance', he said the party was already in touch with other opposition political parties on various issues, including the Panama leaks. However, he declined to provide details and instead stated to wait until Tuesday. He said that Bilawal has discussed the future strategy with the five-member implementation committee he had constituted to monitor the progress on the four demands he put forward to the government. "Since, the committee noted no progress on the implementation, the Chairman would definitely announce future strategy of the party," he added.
Bilawal's four points are (i) appointment of a full-fledged foreign minister, (ii) formation of a parliamentary committee on national security, (iii) passage of the opposition's bill seeking investigation into the Panama Papers, and (iv) implementation of the resolution passed during a multi-party conference on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) held in May 2015.