PML-N wants JUI-F's long march deferred till November 'for better mobilisation'

Published September 30, 2019
PML-N Ahsan Iqbal speaks to reporters in Lahore on Monday. — DawnNewsTV

— DawnNewsTV/File
PML-N Ahsan Iqbal speaks to reporters in Lahore on Monday. — DawnNewsTV — DawnNewsTV/File

The PML-N on Monday formed a committee to hold consultations with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and other opposition parties before committing to a final date for their anti-government protest.

The committee's formation was announced by senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, who was speaking to reporters after a meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) chaired by its president, Shahbaz Sharif, in Lahore.

He said the PML-N will cooperate with every movement that is aimed at bringing down the PTI government, including the JUI-F's proposed long march scheduled for October.

However, Iqbal said a majority of the participants of the meeting had agreed that the protest should be deferred until November because the PML-N needed to "fully mobilise" its ranks for any anti-government movement. In this regard, the party has formed divisional committees to speed up mobilisation efforts.

He said the party will recommend to the JUI-F to immediately call an 'all-parties conference' of the opposition to take other parties on board to make the protest a success.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had last month announced that his party planned a "decisive" long march aimed at ousting the present government in October.

He had warned the government against making any effort to disrupt the planned march and expressed hope that people "from all walks of life and from all over the country" will reach Islamabad to participate in what he called an "Azadi March" to free the country of the present "incompetent and illegitimate government".

Opinion

Editorial

Deadlocked
Updated 19 Apr, 2025

Deadlocked

Politicians’ refusal to talk to each other and resolve issues has created space for a different type of rulership to take over.
Trump vs Harvard
19 Apr, 2025

Trump vs Harvard

AMONGST the ‘enemies of the people’ in Trumpian America are elite universities seen as the bastions of liberal...
External account stability
19 Apr, 2025

External account stability

DRIVEN by a major spike in workers’ remittances last month, the country’s current account posted a record ...
Paying the price
Updated 18 Apr, 2025

Paying the price

Pakistan is trapped in a relentless cycle of climate volatility.
Political solution
18 Apr, 2025

Political solution

THOUGH the BNP-M may have ended its 20-day protest sit-in outside Quetta on Wednesday, the core issues affecting...
Grave desecration
18 Apr, 2025

Grave desecration

THE desecration of 85 Muslim graves at a cemetery in Hertfordshire in the UK is a distressing act that deserves the...