Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday claimed that PML-N and Fazlur Rehman wish to give the ruling PTI a chance to complete its 5-year tenure, while it still wishes to rid the people of the government.

In a press conference in Islamabad, PPP members Farhatullah Babar and Nayyar Bukhari said that PPP still welcomes any party, which still wishes to continue the anti-government movement.

But, following the PPP leaders’ remarks, JUI-F’s Hafiz Hamdullah lamented the PPP for being PTI’s B team, and called out the party for lacking “Bhutto-ism of the yesteryears”.Hamdullah claimed, PPP has turned into “Zardari’s Party”.

Defending his party, he reiterated that his party as well as the PML-N, are still part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement alliance.

Tensions between the PPP and PML-N — considered the two biggest Opposition parties in Pakistan — have been on the rise since PPP’s Yousaf Raza Gillani was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Gillani’s appointment drew the ire of PDM, an alliance of the Opposition parties, which said that the move was made without its blessing.

Since the mudslinging between both parties has continued.

Meanwhile, recently, in the NA-249 by-election in Karachi, the PPP and PML-N fielded their separate candidates with PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel winning the race. PML-N has accused the PPP of stealing the election.

PPP has demanded proof of the allegations and gone so far as to name the PML-N as the “original selected” and “only second to PTI in its selectedness”.