PDM chief calls for ouster of ‘fake’ PTI government

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Jamiat Ulema-e-islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the opposition will jointly go into the joint session of the parliament to take on the government.

He was addressing a joint news conference along with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who called on him at his residence in Islamabad on Friday.

Fazl said the whole nation was facing a tough situation. “It’s need of the hour and demand of the public to oust this fake government,” he added.

Fazl said if the government went ahead with its plan to pass legislation in the joint session of the parliament through its fake “numbers” then it would be a dictatorial step.

He said the opposition will play its due role by upholding the parliamentary traditions and will foil government’s “dirty tactics.”

Responding to a question, he said Bilawal had come to visit him because “we have a link spanning over three generations.”

Bilawal said the government is suffering defeat due to the unity in the opposition ranks.

“We foiled the conspiracy of the NAB Ordinance and EVMS,” he said, adding he and Fazl did not discuss the PDM.

Earlier, the leaders of the joint opposition have twice met National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser asking him to give them in writing the terms of engagements with them that should include a categorical statement that it was the government which was approaching them for a dialogue and an assurance that the recently-promulgated controversial ordinances would also be discussed in the parliamentary commitee.

The decision that the opposition would seek everything in writing from the speaker was taken by members of the recently-formed steering commitee of the joint opposition.

“We are going to communicate to the speaker that he should give us in writing because we do not want to hear that we (the opposition) have been pressing for a dialogue,” parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Senate Sherry Rehman told reporters ater atending the meeting of the steering commitee.

On the occasion, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the speaker had talked to him and PPP stalwart Naveed Qamar over telephone and told them that he wanted to see both the government and the opposition to sit together and discuss some 20 bills and ordinances which the government wanted to legislate through a joint siting of parliament.