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| June 15, 2003 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1424 |
Fahim to discuss protest strategy with Benazir
ISLAMABAD, June 14: People’s Party Parliamentarians President Makhdoom Amin Fahim left for Dubai on Saturday to apprise PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto about the political situation after the opposition’s boycott of the budget debate, sources told Dawn.
The sources said Mr Fahim would seek Ms Bhutto’s advice for launching a protest campaign against the Legal Framework Order.
PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar, when contacted, said Mr Fahim’s trip to Dubai was scheduled for June 8, but he had postponed the visit due to the budget session.
He said the PPP president had gone to Dubai for the treatment of his wife.
He said Ms Bhutto would leave for the United Kingdom on Monday.
Sources said a PPP meeting held at the apartment of Mr Fahim in parliament lodges after a walkout from the National Assembly on Friday failed to reach a decision about protest against the LFO.
Some leaders supported street protest and others opposed going to that extent at the moment, they said.
They said Mr Fahim also called Ms Bhutto during the meeting.
They claimed that Mr Fahim and Raja Pervez Ashraf were not in favour of adopting a hard-line stand against the army while Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi, Khursheed Shah and others supported launching of street agitation against the government’s rigid attitude over the LFO.
The meeting ended with an understanding that a decision would be taken after consulting other opposition groups.
Mr Babar said the opposition remained united during the budget session boycott despite attempts made by the government to break the unity. He conceded that there were different opinions within the party regarding protest against the LFO and President Gen Pervez Musharraf but said it did not mean that the party was divided.
He said there could be differences on the mode of protest but all the party members were united on the stance that the LFO could not become a part of the Constitution without the approval of parliament by a two-thirds majority.
He said it was a principled stand of the party and the PPP would continue its struggle for the restoration of true democracy.
He termed the protest and boycott of the budget session successful and said the opposition had denied legitimacy to the government’s legislation.
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