Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is reaching Karachi today (Thursday), local media reported, citing sources. Following the decision of the government about holding Senate elections in February, Fazalur Rehman has become active and he is expected to meet former president Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Karachi today, sources aware of the matter said.
The Government Has Violated The Constitution, Maulana Fazlur Rehman
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said who https://t.co/n1mkv24NZI— GuruAlpha (@GuruAlpha1) December 16, 2020
Maulana will take the PPP leadership into confidence on the matter related to resignations from the assemblies. The PDM head wants the PPP to quit from the assemblies in order to put more pressure on the government for reelection.
The meeting will discuss Senate elections, PDM’s deadline to the government and the country’s overall political situation. Views would also be exchanged on summoning the emergency meeting of the PDM in this current ongoing month.
On Wednesday, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had opposed the government’s decision to hold Senate polls through a show of hands procedure and before time. “Holding Senate polls through a show of hands is against the Constitution of Pakistan,” he had said while asking as to who has given them the authority to bypass the constitution.
He had further said that even the Supreme Court of Pakistan does not have the authority to amend the constitution. “It seems that the cabinet does not have the understanding of these matters,” he lamented.
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It is pertinent to mention here that a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday decided to hold Senate elections through a show of hands procedure rather than a secret ballot. Moreover, the federal government has also decided to hold Senate elections in February rather than in March.
Will PPP resign from assemblies?
Former Punjab law minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said that PPP is fully committed on the issue of resignations and he don t think any party would back down now due to public pressure.
Responding to a query, Maryam Nawaz said that it was a “unanimous” decision of all the parties in the PDM, which Maulana had announced the other day with regards to resignations to be submitted to the respective party heads by December 31st. She was speaking to media persons in Islamabad.
However, Aitzaz Ahsan, a senior leader of PPP and a prominent lawyer, has said that Maryam’s plan doesn’t appear to be succeeding. He was speaking to SAMAA TV on Tuesday. The PPP leader advised the Pakistan Democratic Movement to postpone its rally in Lahore on December 13. “Governments are not toppled through rallies and processions,” he said. “The third force topples them.”
Aitzaz opposed the opposition’s move to resign en masse too. “How can the PML-N alone decide this,” he questioned. Opposition parties should be aware that Nawaz Sharif’s narrative does not serve PDM’s interests, the PPP leader said.
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Political commentators are of the view that the PPP is unlikely to block Islamabad as the PML-N and JUI-F have reportedly plan. “PPP will soon find a graceful exit but may continue to offer its moral support to the anti-government campaign. The party is divided on some basic questions and Bilawal won’t be in a position to take any bold decision. Let’s not forget the fact the PPP did the same when Maulana came to dislodge PTI’s government in 2019,” a source told GVS.
The PTI leaders have already been claiming that the PPP will not support the PML-N’s do or die scenario in the long run. “PPP will never go for the resignations. I can give you my words,” Federal Minister for Water and Power, Faisal Vawda, told Kashif Abbasi on ARY News.