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

Pathways to peace
Updated 27 Apr, 2026

Pathways to peace

NEGOTIATIONS to hammer out the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement took nearly two years before a breakthrough was achieved....
Food-insecure nation
27 Apr, 2026

Food-insecure nation

A NEW UN-backed report has listed Pakistan among 10 countries where acute food insecurity is most concentrated. This...
Migration toll
27 Apr, 2026

Migration toll

THE world should not be deceived by a global migration count lower than the highest annual statistics on record —...
Immunity gap
Updated 26 Apr, 2026

Immunity gap

Pakistan’s Big Catch-Up campaign showed progress but also exposed the scale of gaps in routine immunisation.
Danger on repeat
26 Apr, 2026

Danger on repeat

DISASTERS have typically been framed as acts of nature. Of late, they look increasingly like tests of preparedness...
Loose lips
26 Apr, 2026

Loose lips

PAKISTANIS have by now gained something of an international reputation for their gallows humour, but it seems that...