Shehbaz preparing Opposition to give tough time to govt on budget
Prime Minister approves 5-day holiday on Eid
The leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, seems a little hope for allowing him to travel abroad for medical treatment. So apart from legal battle in the courts, he has decided to reactivate the opposition parties’ alliance and play role within parliament.
His first step was hosting a dinner for the leaders of opposition parties in the federal capital on Monday night.
On Tuesday, Shehbaz Sharif met with Maulana Fazal Rehman and exchanged views on political situation.
Stalwarts of the opposition alliance PDM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Maryam Nawaz and Maulana Fazal Rehman did not attend the dinner, however, second rank leadership was present in the party. Leader of the Opposition in Senate Yousuf Raza Gilani, PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, and ANP leader Amir Haider Khan Hoti attended the dinner.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in UAE and had returned on Sunday night.
PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz was in the capital but she chose to remain away from the dinner.
Shehbaz Sharif asked all opposition leaders to unite again in view of the upcoming budget 2021-22. He was quoted as saying that it was a responsibility of opposition parties to resist all anti-people strategies and decisions being taken for the budget.
Reports said, the PPP and the ANP sought some time to give their reply on the issue raised by the host of the dinner.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s son Asadur Rehman talked about PDM’s revival, but no other participant supplemented his point of view.
All they talked was about the budget and how the opposition could provide relief to the nation, the source explained.
PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal in a TV talkshow, said in the meeting it was agreed that the joint opposition would not allow the government to present anti-people budget and therefore all parties decided to resist any such move.
He, however, asserted that the PDM had not invited the PPP to the alliance meeting being held today (Tuesday), because the party was no more a member of the PDM. “The PPP itself opted to depart its ways from the PDM, then how it could have been invited to the meeting,” he argued.
PPP leader Farhatullah Babar told media that the meeting had broken the ice and provided a platform to the opposition leaders to get together and speak to one another. He also said it was not PDM’s meeting and therefore the PDM issue did not come up for discussion at the event.
Mr Babar said the PPP delegation assured Mr Shehbaz Sharif that the party would support all such moves of the joint opposition that would block the way of “anti-people decisions” in the upcoming budget.
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