ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Wednesday again asked the military leadership to clarify its position on the issue of alleged foreign conspiracy in the no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan, stating that silence was making their claim of neutrality doubtful.

Speaking at a news conference after presiding over a meeting of the PDM with PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, president of the opposition alliance Maulana Fazlur Rehman said if the Supreme Court gave any verdict against them then they had the right to go people’s court.

The Maulana said that besides him and Mr Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also urged the representatives of the military establishment who had attended the meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on March 31 to come out with their stance.

The PDM chief said they would never accept the unconstitutional ruling of the deputy speaker, adding that the joint opposition was making efforts to save the country from facing anarchy. However, he declared that if the PTI wanted confrontation then they were also ready for it. He said the delay by the SC in the hearing of the case was encouraging those who had abrogated the Constitution.

Earlier in the day, Maulana Fazl gave a call to the public to observe Friday (tomorrow) as the day for protection of the country’s Constitution, asking Ulema and Imams of mos­ques to apprise the masses of the “abrogation” of the Constitution by the PTI government in their sermons.

He alleged that the PTI and its workers were making efforts to provoke the workers of other parties in an effort to cause violence and spread anarchy in the country. He asked the people to come out and raise voice against the act of the PTI government.

The Maulana said the constitutional crisis, which begun in the country with the controversial ruling of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on April 3, has now worsened and the dissolution of the assembly by the prime minister made it more serious. The PDM chief said it would be the job of the new government to announce the election schedule, adding that there could be no free and fair elections under the set-up to be installed by the PTI.

He said declaring the national leadership traitors was not a joke; it was an insult to the elected representatives.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2022