Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday reportedly tore the show-cause notice served to his party by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) during the party’s Central Executive Committee meeting.
Bilawal read out the notice served to PPP by PDM’s secretary-general, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and then tore it, according to reports on television.
His action was met with applause from party members present during the meeting.
Addressing the CEC meeting, Bilawal said he had come into politics for respect, and nothing was greater than respect.
The PPP leadership will conclude the CEC meeting tomorrow and the decisions taken will be announced at 2pm, sources within Bilawal House said.
The meeting, which has 50 PPP leaders in attendance, is discussing the current political situation and the relations between the opposition parties and the overall anti-government strategy of the party. Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal are presiding over the meeting.
Meanwhile, opposition leader in the Senate Yousuf Raza Gillani offered the party his resignation as leader of the opposition in the Senate, sources said.
“We have given our lives and rendered many sacrifices for the cause of democracy,” he was quoted as saying.
“Allegations which are unfounded cannot be levelled against PPP,” Gillani was said to have added.
His proposal was unanimously rejected by the CEC, as well as PPP President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Responding to the development, PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal said PPP had taken a “vicious” step by tearing the notice served to it by PDM.
It wasn’t a show-cause notice. They were just asked to respond to their move of getting Gillani the slot of leader of opposition in the Senate via support from a government-ally — BAP, he said, while speaking in Geo News programme “Naya Pakistan”.
Iqbal said a final decision would be taken by the PDM leadership in the matter. However, for him, PPP is no more a part of the Opposition alliance.
The show-cause notice was sent to insult PPP, Senator Palwasha Khan said, adding there was no need for PPP to respond to PDM’s notice.
“No party in PDM, including PML-N, has the right to issue a show-cause notice,” the PPP leader added.
The PPP had earlier delayed the April 5 CEC meeting that was called to decide on resignations from assemblies citing a Senate session summoned by the president. While all major parties showed their willingness for the move, the PPP had sought time to deliberate on the matter.
Gillani’s declaration as opposition leader in the Senate has become a major cause of division within the PDM.
The PML-N says one of its own should have assumed the role as was “pre-decided” at the time of the Senate chairman election, while PPP argues it had the numbers to its favour in the Senate, and so, its party candidate had a right to the position.
Meanwhile senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz said PDM was an unnatural alliance against the present government which has reached its logical end.
He held PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz responsible for disintegrating PDM, adding that issuing a show cause notice to PPP reflected a dictatorial mindset.