PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Democratic Movement will field joint candidates in the upcoming Senate elections, it was announced here on Saturday as Jamaat-i-Islami also agreed to support candidates of the opposition alliance.

The decision was made at a meeting held at the residence of Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Mohammad Humayun Khan here late on Friday night.

Those who attended the meeting included Abbas Afridi and Mian Alamgir Shah of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Farhatullah Babar, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha and Ahmad Karim Kundi of PPP, Maulana Lutfur Rehman and Mehmood Ahmad Betani of JUI-F, Haji Hidayatullah Khan and Sardar Hussain Babak of Awami National Party and Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami.

JI agrees to support opposition alliance in the polls

It was decided that JUI-F, PML-N and ANP would field their candidates on general seats, PPP on the technocrat seat and JI on female seat. During the meeting, the opposition parties’ leaders discussed the prevailing political situation and hoped that PDM would win all five seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“There is no rift in PDM. The opposition parties have taken firm decision to extend full cooperation and ensure success of their candidates,” Maulana Abdul Jalil Jan told Dawn.

PPP provincial deputy secretary information Gohar Khan Inqilabi said that JI had also announced to support the PDM due to which the number of opposition’s votes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had risen to 44.

“PPP wants to remain an active part of PDM in order to rid the nation of the ‘incompetent’ government which has made the lives of masses miserable due to uncontrolled price hike and unemployment.

Mr Inqilabi claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPs seemed depressed and they were likely to avoid supporting candidates of their own party. “PDM’s provincial leadership is likely to hold another session to review the situation,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2021