Shahbaz almost successful in pacifying Fazl

ISLAMABAD: After fully facilitating the government in the passage of a number of FATF-related bills in parliament at the cost of opposition unity, president of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday met Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the latter’s residence and vowed to make efforts to unite the opposition parties on one platform in order to convene a multi-party conference (MPC) in the near future.

“It has been decided that all the parties will be united. It has been decided that we will go together. Rehbar Committee will meet and the all parties’ conference [of the opposition] will also be held,” said Mr Sharif during a brief media chat with Maulana Fazl after their meeting. However, in response to a question as to who would host the MPC, the JUI-F chief said “I don’t know” and then in the second breath stated that “Shahbaz

Sharif is the opposition leader”, meaning thereby that like the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the JUI-F also wants the PML-N to host the opposition parties’ gathering for the purpose of devising a strategy to launch an anti-government drive in the country.

Senior leaders from the two parties, including Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Asif and Khawaja Saad Rafique of the PML-N and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F, were also present in the meeting which, according to both sides, was held in a good environment.