ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened a meeting of parliamentary party of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday.
Sources said that the current political scenario in the country, opposition’s Protest March, Fazalur Rehman’s ultimatum and other issues will be discussed in the meeting. Members of National Assembly and Senate of a party constitute its parliamentary party.
During the meeting, PM Imran will take the parliamentary party into confidence over the prevailing political situation and the government’s measures to tackle the opposition’s march, the sources added.
Opposition parties have put forward harsh demands including immediate resignation of Prime
Minister Imran Khan, holding of fresh elections without military’s involvement.
JUI-F is being supported by nine other opposition parties including Nawaz Sharif’ Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Asfadyar Wali’s Awami National Party (ANP), Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s Pakhtonkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP) and some smaller groups.
PTI government says it is confident to tackle the sit-in. It says if protestors violated their agreement with Islamabad Capital Administration (ICT) that binds them to limit protest within allocated ground, force could be used.
It is feared that any clash would lead to violence as protestors and armed with sticks.
Among the protestors there are hundreds of people from ‘Ansar ul Islam’, which the government alleges is a potential militant outfit but JUI-F claims they are volunteer force of workers raised to maintain security of protestors. People waving Afghan Taliban flags were also seen in the protest.
JUI-F’s Akram Khan Durrani told reporters on Saturday after meeting of the committee comprising second tier leadership of these opposition parties that they might go for country-wide lockdown and resignations from assemblies in next phase of their ongoing protest. Final decision in this regard rests with top leadership, he added.
According to him resignation of the premier Imran Khan is the fundamental demand of opposition political forces and the participants decided not to budge from this demand. He said opposition was adhering to the agreement made with the administration but the government itself is violating it. ‘’If it continues to do so then we shall also be forced to use our available options, adding government has created hurdles for the people who want to participate in this protest”, he said.
Earlier, federal defence Minister Pervez Khattak, who heads government team tasked to negotiate with the opposition parties warned the opposition against breaching agreement JUI-F had signed with the Islamabad administration before they were allowed to stage protest in the federal capital. (With input from INP)
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