ISLAMABAD/ LAHOER: Floundering to achieve the needed figures to move a no- confidence stir against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly, the leadership of the country’s two major opposition parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — on Sunday directed their lawgivers to cancel their foreign visits, if any, and insure their presence in Islamabad for the coming many days.
In the wake of reports that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government is planning to arrange some foreign visits of the lawgivers in an apparent move to sizzle out the opposition’s no- trust move plan, the leaders of the two parties have also directed their separate members not to come part of any sanctioned delegation for any foreign stint.
While speaking to the media at the hearthstone of Nadeem Afzal Chan, who quit the ruling PTI to return the opposition party, PPP president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in response to a question about the chances of their success and the impartiality of establishment said whether the establishment was neutral or not would come apparent in the coming many days. No bone could give 100 per cent guarantee of the success of a no- confidence stir, but if they were to stay for such a guarantee, this misery would continue, he said.
In Islamabad, political pressures have begun to rise as the PPP’s long march left Lahore for the civil capital as per plan while the original administration has yet to grant a authorization to the PPP to hold a public meeting at the notorious D-Chowk, right in front of the Parliament House structure on the Constitution Avenue.
Hours after a PPP delegation held addresses with the representatives of the original administration on Sunday autumn, party’s clerk general Nayyar Bokhari blazoned they would hold the planned public meeting at D-Chowk, come what may, and advised the government against creating any obstacles in the way of the marchers who are anticipated to enter the capital megacity hereafter (Tuesday).
Addressing party workers in Kahuta, Mr Bokhari reminded the Islamabad administration officers that the PPP had espoused a legal and popular way to hold the public rally and asked the officers to desist from getting‘servant’of the PTI by removing hurdles in the way of peaceful kick.
The PPP’s Islamabad chapter had last week formally submitted an operation to the original administration of Islamabad, informing it about its plan to hold the public meeting at 4 pm on Tuesday at D-Chowk, the place where the PTI had offered a 126- day-long sit-in against the PML-N government in 2014.
PPP’s information clerk Shazia Marri in a statement on Sunday said Mr Bhutto-Zardari had asked the party lawgivers to “ insure their presence in Islamabad”, cancel their foreign visits, if any, and “ chorus” from bearing indeed any sanctioned foreign stint.
In a separate statement, PML-N information clerk Marriyum Aurangzeb verified that the party leadership had issued directives to its MNAs to stay in Islamabad. She said keeping in view the prevailing price-hike and severance in the country, the PML-N had decided that its members would no more shoulder sanctioned visits as part of any sanctioned delegation to be constituted by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
“ Spending taxpayers’ plutocrat on foreign passages at a time when the people are under constraint due to price-hike and severance will be nothing but corruption and dacoity,” said Ms Aurangzeb, who had served as the information minister in the PML-N government. She expressed the stopgap that the PTI members who realized the pain and mournings of the affectation- hit millions would also refuse to come part of any similar foreign stint at this pivotal time.
The directives were issued by the leadership of the two parties after the nine- party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement and the PPP on Saturday agreed to accelerate their sweats to negotiate with the ruling party’s abettors on further‘ solid terms’before publicizing a date for tabling the no- confidence stir.
‘ Stay wo n’t end misery’
Admitting that the passage of a no- trust stir against the high minister was‘not an easy task’, PPP president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told journalists in Lahore that the‘ extreme step’ was necessary to steer the country out of heads on multiple fronts.
“ We ’ve to take the extreme step to steer the country out of the profitable, political and foreign policy heads the peremptory government has created. None can guarantee a 100 per cent success. This oppression will continue if (we) stay for the 100 percent guarantee,” the PPP president said while answering questions at the hearthstone of Mr Chan.
In reply to a question about the success of no- trust move, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said “ Yes, it’s a delicate task. None can name it to be an easy bone. But our duty is to make the trouble and we suppose that this is worth the threat.” He pledged not to sit idle until achieving the ideal of junking of the‘ favored’ (from power corridors) indeed if the no- trust stir remained unproductive.
Asked about impartiality of the state institutions during the no- trust process, he said the impartiality would be put to test within days. “ All and sundry will see who’s neutral and who isn’t when the no- trust stir will be tabled,” he observed.
About the opposition sweats to win over the government abettors despite claims of having further than the needed number for the no- confidence move, the PPP president said the part of the ( government’s) abettors was veritably pivotal, as this would cheer chances of success. Just like a seeker who visits each and every namer to seek their support in an election, they were also approaching everyone who could extend a helping hand against the autocrats, he developed.
In reply to the question if the opposition would go first for claiming the head of the National Assembly speaker or of the high minister, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said it was a matter of strategy, which would be soon finalised by Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazl. In his particular opinion, he said, the no- confidence stir should be tabled against both.
He also defended the party’s decision of taking out a long march on Islamabad, arguing the step had put the maximum possible pressure on the government which, having no organic maturity in the congress, was impelled to communicate parliamentarians.
