Peaceful PDM rallies to be launched from 23rd

NOWSHERA: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Friday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was unnerved by the opposition public meetings and had now unleashed a propaganda campaign against opponents.

“The ministers are busy in giving out statements and addressing frequent press conferences as they fear the ouster of the PTI government,” he said while talking to the media here at the Nowshera Press Club.

The senior politician, who is also central secretary-general of the Awami National Party (ANP), said a series of the public meetings arranged by the PDM in various big cities of the country had left the PTI government scared.

“The rulers were in panic and felt they would be sent lacking. They are making franking efforts to hold the Senate poll ahead of the schedule,” he added.Mian Iftikhar said the government wanted an early Senate poll to bring its favourites to the upper house of the parliament. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed to enjoy a majority in the parliament on the one hand but was resorting to unconstitutional steps of holding early Senate poll on the other, which was something ridiculous.

The PDM leader said parliamentary issues should be discussed in the parliament. The opposition parties would not allow the PTI government to bring the parliament and the Supreme Court of Pakistan into disrepute, he added. Mian Iftikhar said that realizing the pressure from the PDM, the PTI government was making bids to hold early Senate election and that too by a show of hands as the rulers feared the ruling party legislators would not vote for them in case of a secret ballot.

The PDM leader said the present PTI government will have to be ousted to save democracy and protect the country.Mian Iftikhar said the last option for the PDM was quitting assemblies and all parties, which were part of the opposition alliance, were unanimous on the issue.

He said the PTI government’s policies – domestic, foreign and economic – were a classic case of a failure and the present rulers have nothing to offer for the wellbeing of the countrymen.The senior nationalist leader, who lost his only son, Mian Rashid Hussain, to terrorism, expressed concern over the reports of the regrouping of terrorists.

He said the National Plan of Action evolved in the past after the Army Public School, Peshawar, carnage should be implemented to ensure peace.Mian Iftikhar said the PDM had arranged a huge public rally in Lahore on December 13 and that was the last part of the series of such gatherings.

He said now the opposition alliance would start holding peaceful protest rallies in different cities of the country for which arrangements had been finalised. The PDM leader said the schedule for arranging these rallies had been handed to the alliance constituent parties in all the divisions of the country, adding rallies would be held in the Mardan division of KP on the 23rd of this month.