LAHORE: Opposition parties in the Punjab Assembly have decided to attend assembly proceedings wearing black armbands and table a joint resolution demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation.

Opposition leader Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed has said all opposition parties have taken a unanimous stand that the prime minister must step down. He said a meeting with parliamentary leaders of all opposition parties in the Punjab Assembly had been called for today (Monday) ahead of the assembly session to plan a line of action. He said he had personally invited the parliamentary leaders of PPP, PML-Q and Jamaat-i-Islami to the meeting.

Rasheed also said the meeting would formally decide the course of action and option of boycotting the assembly proceedings.

Answering a question, he said, “The opposition will not let the House proceed if the speaker tried to block their joint resolution.”

PML-Q: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Jamaat-i-Islami top leadership have demanded that the chief justice of Pakistan ensure ‘fair probe’ by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in Panama case and make its findings public after every two weeks.

Both parties made the demand after a meeting between JI chief Senator Sirajul Haq and PML-Q leaders Shujaat Husain and Pervaiz Elahi at the latter’s residence here on Sunday.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should resign before the formation of JIT and appear before it. The chief justice should ensure transparency in the JIT working and its performance should be made public fortnightly,” Shujaat said.

Talking to reporters, he said all opposition parties should shun their differences and put pressure on the premier to resign after the Panama verdict.

“Had the opposition united, Nawaz Sharif would have resigned earlier,” he added.

Pervaiz Elahi wondered how come the PML-N distributed sweets after the Panama case judgement. “After reading the verdict, the premier put off his address to the nation,” he said.

Earlier, the alliance of four parties -- PML-Q, Sunni Ittehad Council, Majlis Wahdatul Musalmeen and Pakistan Awami Tehrik -- discussed efforts to form a ‘grand alliance’ on the Panama issue under Chaudhry Shujaat. At the meeting held at the residence of the Chaudhrys here on Sunday, a six-point joint declaration was issued.

According to the declaration, the prime minister has become a suspect and to meet the requirements of justice it is demanded that he should immediately resign.

It said a grand alliance on the Panama issue under Chaudhry Shujaat should be formed. “The four-party alliance will establish contacts with other opposition parties and form a coordination committee comprising Tariq Bashir Cheema, Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, Sahibzada Hamid Raza and Allama Nasir Abbas and also fully support announcement of launching a movement by lawyers.”

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2017