Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday announced that the opposition alliance’s March 26 long march has been postponed after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed reservations over en masse resignation from the assemblies.
"Nine parties are in favour of resignations along with the long march but PPP had reservations. They will discuss this in their central executive committee meeting and will let PDM know," he said while addressing a press conference, flanked by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and PPP's Yousuf Raza Gilani, following the alliance's meeting in Islamabad.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that until the PPP conveys its decision to PDM, the "March 26 long march should be considered postponed".
Soon after the announcement, an infuriated PDM chief rushed out of the press conference and did not take up questions from the media.
The announcement was made following reports of differences emerged between two major parties of the alliance – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – over the issue of en masse resignation from assemblies.
During the meeting of the 11-party alliance at PML-N secretariat in Islamabad, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari urged PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif to come back to Pakistan, saying that "they all will have to go to jail if they want to fight against the incumbent regime".
Earlier on Monday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who attended today's meeting via video link, had said he did not favour en masse resignations of the opposition's legislators at this stage.
"We should use the resignations as an atom bomb, as the last option," he underscored at a press conference in Hyderabad.
Both, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders on the other hand are of the view that resignations have become indispensable for launching a decisive political movement to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government at the Centre.
