ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Opposition leaders on Saturday criticized the government’s crisis management and declared it a failure. They also announced to stage a protest sit-in outside the Supreme Court building on Oct 12, to observe a ‘black day’ in the country to mark the toppling of Nawaz Sharif government in 1999.

Talking to a small group of reporters after a grand meeting of opposition parties at the residence of People’s Party Parliamentarians MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf here, the opposition leaders said they could not hold a formal meeting on Saturday due to the earthquake and they would meet within few days.

The meeting was attended by chairman of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Makhdoom Amin Fahim, secretary general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Raja Zafarul Haq, PML-N acting parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, MMA leaders Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Munawar Hassan and Liaqat Baloch, and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.

MMA leader Liaqat Baloch said the opposition parties had already announced to observe a ‘black day’ on October 12 and it had been decided that opposition parliamentarians would hold a march from the Parliament House to the Supreme Court building where they would stage a sit-in, which would also be participated by the lawyer-community.

Mr Baloch said the opposition would lodge its strong protest inside and outside the parliament over the failure of the government to carry out relief activities after the earthquake disaster. Besides this, he said, the purpose of holding the protest march was to highlight the rigging in the local government elections and price-hike in the country.

The MMA leader said that all opposition parties were united and had agreed to launch a decisive movement against the regime. In response to a question, Mr Baloch said all of the opposition members were ready to tender resignation from the parliament and they would use this option when the time would come.

Mr Baloch alleged the government had not taken proper steps to meet the tragic earthquake incident. The nation had suffered this national disaster due to the misdeeds of the rulers.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said the opposition leaders in their meeting had expressed their concern over the failure of the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) and it had been proved that the cell had no plans to meet any eventuality. He said that the Capital Development Authority (CDA), which issued no objection certificates to the builders for constructing multi- storeyed buildings in the city had no equipment to carry out emergency relief work in these buildings.

The opposition parties, he said, were worried about the fact that if this was the situation in the capital city, then what would be the state of affairs in other parts of the country.

Mr Ashraf said opposition parties had directed their workers to take part in the relief activities.