Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the newly formed opposition alliance, will hold its first rally on October 11 in Quetta which will be followed by full-fledged anti-government movement in the country, PML-N leader Shahid Kahaqan Abbasi announced on Tuesday.
He was addressing a press conference with other opposition leaders in Islamabad to brief on decisions taken during the first PDM meeting.
“Space is shrinking for democracy in Pakistan, inflation is on rise and economy has been ruined,” said Abbasi, a former prime minister of the country, announcing that PDM movement will bring real political change in the country.
After Quetta, he said other rallies will be also held in other three provincial capitals of the country as well as in the small cities of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said the emergency meeting of PDM was summoned in view of the prevailing crisis in the country including to condemn the arrest of opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif.
He also informed that the names for PDM’s steering committee has been finalised comprising members from all opposition parties, which will mull over the organisational structure of the newly-formed anti-government alliance.
The committee will be headed on the rotational basis and PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal will be first chair of the committee, said Ashraf.
Ashraf, who is also a former prime minister, claimed that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is not an independent body, saying that arrest of opposition leaders will weaken the democracy in the country and give rise to the public anger.
“The arrest of Shehbaz Sharif is regrettable and concerning,” he maintained.
JUI-F’s Maulana Ghafoor Haider, sharing the same views, said the PTI-led government had lost its credibility in the public and claimed that it failed to provide five million low-cost houses and millions of jobs to the masses as promised prior to 2018 general elections.
He also condemned the arrest of Shehbaz and added that the anti-government movement will continue until it’s dislodged.Abbasi said the meeting strongly condemned the "shrinking" space for democracy in the country and discussed rising inflation, unemployement, "historic corruption", the state of the economy and people's issues.
The meeting also gave approval to PDM's steering committee, which Abbasi said will play its role "in taking the PDM movement forward".
He said the steering committee, which will comprise two members from each party, held its first meeting today as well and an "organisational structure" will be sent to the opposition parties' leaders following which the movement will be presented before the people.
"You will see that this movement will give rise to a true political change in Pakistan's political history," Abbasi said, adding that all opposition parties had consensus on the decisions taken today.
He said the movement's future strategy will be decided in the second meeting of the steering committee next Monday.
The steering committee's convenership will be changed on a rotational basis, with PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal to serve as its convener for the first month.
The PDM huddle comes a day after PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in an assets beyond means and money laundering case.
Referring to the arrest, former premier and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said the meeting resolved that "such tactics will weaken democracy and the anger and grievances of Pakistanis will rise."
Questioning the need to arrest Shehbaz after a reference against him had been filed, Pervez said the "government-NAB nexus" became apparent after government ministers predicted on television the arrests of various opposition leaders.
Ashraf said the Oct 11 rally will be followed by "a series of public meetings" in all provinces.
The meeting was expected to review the situation after Shehbaz’s detention and possible arrest of other leaders, the PTI government’s alleged plan to rig Gilgit-Baltistan and local bodies polls and give a final shape to the decisions taken at the opposition's September 20 multi-party conference (MPC).
The PDM was formed at the MPC, where opposition parties had announced launching of a three-phased anti-government movement under an “action plan” starting from next month with countrywide public meetings, protest demonstrations and rallies in December and a “decisive long march” towards Islamabad in January 2021.
