Daily Times

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday gave the PPP and the ANP one more chance to review their decision of parting ways with the opposition alliance, a private TV channel reported him as saying at a press conference here.

“The Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party can still review their resignations and return to PDM,” Fazl said while talking to media persons in Islamabad alongside other leaders of the alliance, including PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal, following a meeting of the PDM. “The PDM was not formed so that we bicker over one position or the other. We have seen many challenges through and were always able to sort things out with dialogue and mutual understanding,” he said. “We have received the resignations of both the parties, but we can still sit and talk to resolve the differences,” he added.

Fazl lamented that the two parties chose to walk away when they could have conveyed their concerns by asking for a PDM meeting. “We are still inviting them towards reconciliation. PDM is willing to listen to your concerns,” he said.

According to Fazl, the alliance represents the public and its issues, and those parting ways should not make it a matter of their ego. “Keeping in view the peoples’ miseries and the inflation and injustices they are dealing with, we should not put our interests before theirs,” he advised. “This alliance is a serious platform to put forth the aspirations of the people,” he maintained. Fazl said that both the parties “should not have adopted such a behaviour”. He said that it was the right of the opposition alliance to demand an explanation for the PPP and ANP’s move to get Gilani appointed in the manner he was. He said that all political parties of the alliance have ‘equal status’. However, the PDM does have an administrative structure as well. “The majority of our decisions were made with agreement between all parties. Candidates for chairman Senate, deputy chairman Senate and leader of opposition in Senate were decided by consensus,” he said. “Many times an issue ended up not being completely resolved. But we brought to the fore whatever progress was made on it,” he said.

The PDM chief said that through it all, a love for Pakistan’s politics and democracy always remained at the centre of the alliance’s decisions. “Even today we keep in mind that great purpose of this forum,” he said.

Fazlur Rehman said that “unnecessarily” making the show-cause notices “a matter of self-esteem is not in line with the demands of politics”. “They could have called a session of the PDM as well, stating that they will explain the matter there,” he said, adding, “They could have called a meeting of the steering committee.”

He said that it was unfortunate that news of the show-cause notice being torn by the PPP chairman came to the fore. “The latest news is that they said who are these people to demand an explanation from us,” noted Fazl.

Fazl said that the PDM will make its decisions in the holy month of Ramazan and that there will be ‘no compromise on the pace of the movement’. “We will not change the pace and progress of PDM,” he reiterated. “We waited for our friends to return and will continue to wait for them,” he added.

The PDM chief said that the alliance is still waiting for PPP to review its decision and show political maturity and dignity. “There has to be a difference when it comes to a 35-year-old versus a 70-year-old,” he added.

He acknowledged receiving the resignations from both parties, but said, “I am putting these on hold for now. We have responded and we expect that the demonstrate maturity in return. We do not want to get tangled in a constant exchange of words. This is our final say in this regard.”

Shortly after Fazlur Rehman’s media talk, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira held his own media briefing to respond. “No show-cause notices are ever served in an alliance […] It is not as if we broke a consensus,” he said, adding that the party continues to respect Fazlur Rehman. He insisted that the PPP had “not deviated from any agreement”. The PPP leader noted that a harsh exchange of words had taken place between the PPP and PML-N, however adding, “We did not start anything.”

“Fazlur Rehman has made rather inappropriate remarks. We expect that he retracts these comments,” Kaira said, referring to the “BAP ko baap” remarks. He also demanded that an apology be issued to PPP and ANP over the show-cause notices.