PESHAWAR: The former Chief Minister of East Pakistan, Mr Ataur Rahman Khan, has said that the combined opposition groups of political parties like the National Democratic Front (NDP), the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Democratic Action Committee (DAC) no longer exist as political entities.

Asked by Pressmen as to which political party he belonged now, the East Pakistan leader, who left here this evening [May 12] for Rawalpindi after two days’ stay here, replied that he has been associated with NDP since its formation in 1964-65. But he thought that the Front had now outlived its utility, because it was a temporary arrangement between the constituent political parties. Likewise the PDM and the DAC can serve no purpose in future as temporary alliances, he added.

Mr Ataur Rahman Khan and Justice Party chief Air Marshal Asghar Khan who arrived here yesterday afternoon met a number of leaders last night and today including the NAP Chief Khan Wali Khan, Mr Khair Baksh Mari, Sardar Abdur Rashid, Mr Yusuf Khattak, Major-General Jilani and Qazi Mohammad Issa.

Both Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Mr Ataur Rahman told pressmen that their discussions with political leaders were of a general nature.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2019