Daily Times

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Monday asked all the opposition parties to join hands and move forward with the anti-government movement, a private TV channel reported.

The development came during a dinner hosted by Shahbaz during which Leader of the Opposition in Senate Yousuf Raza Gilani, PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, ANP leader Amir Haider Khan Hoti, and other party leaders were present. The overall political situation of the country was discussed at the dinner.

Meanwhile, PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal told a private TV channel that Shahbaz is attempting to ‘unite’ the opposition. The government has manipulated the economic numbers, he said, adding the rising inflation has made it difficult for a poor man to make a living.

Shahbaz’s reconciliation policy is for the opposition, the PML-N leader said. “There can be no reconciliation with the government,” he maintained. He said the PDM will hold a meeting and will decide in what capacity can PPP render its services to the opposition alliance. “We are happy that all the representatives of opposition parties attended the dinner,” he said, adding that he would have been happier had PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto attended too. Separately, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said lavish banquets cannot bring a lifeless opposition into power. In a statement, he said he was disappointed by the opposition’s negative behaviour as no issue related to the problems of the common man came under discussion during the banquet.

He was commenting on the dinner hosted by PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif for the opposition parties in Islamabad. He said the opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif cannot bring such a scattered opposition together. He said the opposition should do politics on issues, as politics on public issues is the real service to the nation. The opposition, Fawad Ch regretted, is yet to respond to the government’s recommendations to move ahead with the proposed electoral reforms and the right to vote for the overseas Pakistanis.