ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: A joint meeting of the central executive committee and federal council of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) will be held here on Tuesday morning (today) to chalk out future strategy for launching an anti-government agitation after Eid.
Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Chairman and People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) President Makhdoom Amin Fahim will preside over the meeting.
Sources told Dawn that there was a heavy agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, which also included “future relations with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA)”.
The sources said that though both the ARD and the MMA had announced that they would jointly launch a movement against the government after Eid, due to past experiences with the MMA that made it impossible for the other opposition parties to take a firm position on the controversial issues including the LFO, some members of the PPP had expressed reservations about the possibility of the religious alliance joining the ARD in the forthcoming crucial “agitational” movement against the military regime.
Therefore, the sources said, the top PPP leadership would try to remove the apprehensions of their members in this regard on Tuesday by asking the MMA to make its position clear on the matter of post-Eid protest.
The party leaders believed that for launching a forceful campaign against the government, there was a need for complete understanding among all ranks of the combined opposition, the sources said, adding that the PPP leaders expressed the hope that the MMA this time would not compromise on principles and stand firmly with the ARD in its struggle against the dictatorship.
In the meeting, the sources said, the PPP leaders would also discuss strategy for its protest against the arrest of ARD president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
The issues of requisitioning the National Assembly and Senate sessions and mode of protest against the Legal Framework Order (LFO) and President Musharraf’s presence in parliament when the two houses are summoned next time are also expected to be finalized at the Tuesday’s meeting.
