Fazl makes PPP, ANP's comeback to PDM conditional

PPP and ANP can rejoin Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) if they apologise to the anti-government movement for going against its decisions, the alliance's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Tuesday.

The PDM chief's comments came during his meeting with PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif at the latter's residence in Lahore.

PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, PML-N Deputy Secretary-General Attaullah Tarar, and JUI-F leaders Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Maulana Asad Mahmood were in attendance during the meeting.

Fazl, addressing a press conference after the meeting, said both parties — PPP and ANP — had been given sufficient time to get back to the PDM leadership, but they have not done so.

"There are currently no proposals to invite PPP and ANP at the PDM meeting on May 29," he said. However, during the meeting, the leaders will decide the future of PPP and ANP in the alliance.

The fallout

On April 6, the ANP, and on April 11, the PPP had parted ways with the PDM after the latter served it a show-cause notice — as PPP had gotten Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed as the leader of the Opposition in the Senate, going against PDM's decisions, and ANP supported it.

PPP was asked to explain its move to get appointed its candidate, Gillani, as Leader of Opposition in Senate, without first obtaining the consent of parties of the Opposition alliance.

ANP, on the other hand, was issued a notice for supporting the PPP in its efforts to get Gillani designated by roping in senators from the government's ally Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) to complete the numbers required.

'Shahbaz's dinner had nothing to do with PDM'

In another development related to the alliance, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz has said her party president Shahbaz Sharif's dinner — held a day earlier with PPP, ANP, and other Opposition party leaders in presence — had nothing to do with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

"He hosted the dinner as the leader of Opposition, as they had to devise a strategy for the budget session," Maryam said while speaking to journalists in Islamabad.

She said PDM had decided to hold a meeting after Ramadan and it will take place within two days to decide the alliance's future course of action.

Responding to a question, Maryam said she had not attended the dinner as she wasn't a parliamentarian and asked the journalist to "stop making an issue out of everything".

Shahbaz's dinner

Shahbaz Sharif, a day earlier, had hosted a dinner reception and asked all the Opposition parties to join hands and move forward with the anti-government movement, sources said.

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 also discussed at the dinner, sources said.