ISLAMABAD: Main opposition party in parliament Pakistan Peoples Party has announced to end its role of "friendly opposition" in the Parliament.

“We would now act as the opposition and not as the friendly opposition that we did in Parliament in order to save parliamentary democracy,” Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah told Dawn over telephone from his hometown of Sukkur.

Shah castigated the government for invoking Article 245 of the Constitution which the latter has employed to deploy the army in the federal capital and termed it "a political blunder" by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"Neither the Parliament, nor the political parties were taken into confidence over a decision as important as this,” Shah said.

"An in camera joint session of the Parliament should have been called before invoking this article,” Shah remarked.

He said the prevailing political situation had led the government to behave in a confused manner, adding that it had also closed dialogue with other political forces, a situation which Shah said was resulting in chaos.

"The government should urgently restart dialogue with varying political forces otherwise I fear that the democratic system may become jeopardised,” Shah warned.

Opinion

Editorial

Farewell to arms?
Updated 03 Aug, 2026

Farewell to arms?

PALESTINIAN resistance group Hamas recently made a major concession by agreeing to give up its weapons. It should be...
Unplanned future
03 Aug, 2026

Unplanned future

A PROJECTION that Pakistan’s population could reach 400m by 2040 should not be treated as another dramatic number...
No more torture
03 Aug, 2026

No more torture

EVEN the best laws on the books are worth little unless the state shows the willingness to enforce them. This is...
Urban flooding
Updated 02 Aug, 2026

Urban flooding

THE warning from the disaster management and weather authorities that a new monsoon spell could trigger urban...
Fatal workplaces
02 Aug, 2026

Fatal workplaces

THE methane explosion near Quetta that killed 34 coal miners is the latest entry in Pakistan’s long register of...
Dual standards
02 Aug, 2026

Dual standards

IT appears that the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has fallen foul of the Election Commission of Pakistan. A...