PESHAWAR: President of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday said the establishment had tightened its grip on parliament through new legislation by a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate.

Addressing a protest rally here, the alliance chief said the opposition would respect the army if the latter was neutral.

“We don’t want a state institution like the army to be discussed in public meetings, but it depends on your [establishment’s] actions,” he said.

The multiparty opposition alliance held a public rally on the Ring Road against the rising rates of essential commodities, fuel and utility bills. The police cordoned off all routes to the provincial secretariat of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, where the PDM leaders addressed workers.

According to analysts, the PDM’s power show in the provincial capital like the past and the participation of workers was also very thin.

PDM chief addresses rally in Peshawar, insists PM ‘irrelevant’ in national politics

Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and others addressed the rally.

Mr Fazl came down heavily on the establishment for ‘open intervention in politics’ and said parliament had become a toy in the hands of the power that be after the government rushed bills through the joint session of parliament.

He said parliamentarians of the ruling PTI and its allies were pressured to attend the joint session and vote for the government’s bills.

The PDM chief said members of the opposition parties also received phone calls and were threatened not to attend the joint session. He said the opposition parliamentarians were warned that corruption cases would be registered against them if they attended the joint sitting.

“We are watching your (establishment) mischievous role in politics,” he said.

Mr Fazl said the establishment should withdraw its support for the ‘puppet’ PTI government if it wanted to serve the country in a ‘dignified manner’.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had become irrelevant in national politics and a ‘curse’ had been imposed on the nation through rigged elections.

The PDM chief said parliament had passed bills in its joint session to establish the hold of the International Monetary Fund on the country’s fiscal system and tighten the role of establishment in politics.

He said a bill was passed to benefit Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was involved in the killing of Pakistani soldiers and innocent civilians.

Without naming the PPP, the PDM chief said the joint session of parliament had exposed the people, who wanted to bring about an in-house change.

He said the opposition would be at the mercy of the establishment and taste defeatif no confidence motion was moved against the prime minister.

Addressing the rally, former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the government wanted to hold next elections through electronic voting machine (EVM) to steal the people’s mandate.

He said the next government would revoke the bills passed by the joint session of parliament.

Mr Abbasi said the country’s former top judge was allegedly involved in election rigging and that the recent scandal related to judiciary had created doubts about the country’s justice system.

He said the country would never make progress without following the Constitution.

Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao rejected the use of EVMs in the next general elections and said the PTI government was planning to rig the next polls through those machines.

He said the PTI government knew it would suffer a crushing defeat in the next elections for breaking its all promises.

Mr Sherpao said there was a growing sense of resentment and despondency among have-nots, who had been exposed to record inflation by the rulers.

He said all segments of society, including youth, were disenchanted with the government. The QWP chairman said the PDM wanted free and fair elections in the country to enable the people to send their true representatives to the assemblies.

“We will not allow interference in the electoral process. We are committed to upholding the Constitution and democratic values in the country,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said the PM Imran Khan-led government had failed on all fronts.

He said the PDM would continue its struggle against the inefficient rulers for their early ouster.

The QWP chairman claimed that the PTI came to power through rigged elections.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2021