ManzoorWattoo-INP-670
President of PPP for Central Punjab Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo talking to media persons. — Photo by INP/File

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Central Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo on Monday said he was disappointed at the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's decision to lead a sit-in by all opposition parties outside Parliament House, DawnNews reported.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Wattoo said the PML-N's demand for the replacement of governors of the four provinces was "ridiculous".

The PML-N had called for the removal of governors of the four provinces, with party leader and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly saying “‘political’ governors should be replaced with non-political ones before general elections”.

Addressing reporters, the PPP leader added that those who had declared unconstitutional the sit-in staged by Tahirul Qadri, chief of the Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ), and had adopted a unanimous resolution against it were now preparing to hold a similar event themselves.

Wattoo said the development was disappointing and the decision to dissolve the assemblies would be taken with consensus.

He criticised the PML-N's demand for the governors' removal and said governors did not enjoy any authority even in a caretaker setup.

Wattoo reiterated that the country's leadership agreed that democracy was the only way forward and that the democratic system would continue.

The response from the PPP's front-man in Punjab comes nearly two days after the PML-N’s announcement saying opposition parties would hold a sit-in outside Parliament House to protest against delay in appointment of leaders of opposition in Sindh and Balochistan assemblies and to press for their demand to make the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) more powerful and independent to ensure free and fair elections.

The date for the one-day sit-in has not yet been finalised and the PML-N has invited opposition leaders from Sindh to join.

Moreover, while the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) had earlier announced to join the PML-N-led sit-in, it reversed the decision within hours.

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