PPP and JUI-F agree on sending government home, opposition leaders say after meeting

Published September 25, 2019
JUI-F leader Akram Durrani (R) meets Sherry Rehman and Nayyar Hussain Bukhari (not pictured) on Wednesday. — Photo by author
JUI-F leader Akram Durrani (R) meets Sherry Rehman and Nayyar Hussain Bukhari (not pictured) on Wednesday. — Photo by author

Leaders of the PPP and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Wednesday said that there are no differences between their parties on sending the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government packing, but that the method of accomplishing that objective is still open to discussion.

The resolve came after JUI-F leader and convener of the opposition’s Rahbar Committee Akram Durrani called on PPP leaders Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and Sherry Rehman at the latter's office in the parliament.

The meeting was a part of JUI-F's efforts to get the PPP on board for its anti-government long march which is scheduled for next month. The PPP leadership has previously announced it will not join the march but promised to provide "moral and political support" to the JUI-F.

Speaking to reporters following their meeting, Durrani said leaders of the two parties had "good" discussions.

He said the JUI-F and PPP had reached complete consensus on one idea: "We have to send this government home. We have to send this prime minister home."

However, he said talks on how to remove the government would continue and they would take discussions from today's meeting to their respective leaderships for further consultation.

Bukhari also said the two parties were united on the idea of sending the government home.

"It is very important to get rid of this incapable government," he said, adding that discussions on the modalities would continue. He said a multi-party conference (MPC) or meeting of the Rahbar Committee could also be called to finalise matters.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had last month announced that his party had planned a "decisive" long march aimed at ousting the present “fake government” in October. He had warned the government against making any effort to disrupt their planned march and expressed the hope that people from all walks of life and from all over the country would reach Islamabad to participate in what he called an "Azadi March" to free the country of the present "incompetent and illegitimate government".

The relationship between the JUI-F and PPP had started to turn sour after the latter refused to join the long march earlier this month, with leaders from both the parties accusing each other of playing politics on the matter.

After the JUI-F criticised the PPP move to stay away from its long march, the PPP had on Monday called for convening another MPC to discuss the possibilities of launching a full-fledged anti-government protest campaign from the platform of the joint opposition.

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