Pak Opposition gets its act together, to rally for Imran's ouster

Pakistan’s joint opposition front, Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led PDM, will soon plan a march to Islamabad “to get rid of inflation and corruption of the ruling PTI government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan”, media reports said.

The PDM, which had been in a lull for months, said on August 28 that it would revive its campaign against the government. It said that it would organize rallies across Pakistan in September following the August 29 meeting in Karachi.

PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday held a massive rally in Karachi in which he criticized the Imran government for failing to fulfil his promises. The PML-N is a significant part of the eight-party umbrella group of the PDM.

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The PDM was formed after the 2018 general election in Pakistan. It alleged that the polls, which brought former cricket Imran Khan to power, were rigged. The conglomerate is opposed to Pakistan’s military establishment and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Shehbaz, who is the brother of former Pakistan president Nawaz Sharif, said with PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam) as the lead, the alliance “will go to Islamabad with hundreds of thousands of people to end inflation and politically bury this fake and corrupt government.”

Nawaz Sharif is currently in London on an expired medical bail. The former PM addressed PDM’s ‘Karachi Jalsa’ via a video link.

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Despite the government’s claims, Shehbaz said, the prices of food items and electricity had sky-rocketed, while “Imran Khan speaks of Riyasat-e-Madina while sitting in his 350-kanal Banigala palace.”

The PML-N leader recalled that Imran had announced a development package of Rs 162 billion for Karachi in March 2019 and another Rs 1 trillion package last year, claiming that the government had not released those funds “except a few pennies” till now.

The various leaders in the alliance attacked Khan over giving “false promises” to the people, the rise in food prices, and the hike in electricity tariffs reported Dawn. They also accused the government of failing to tackle the rising unemployment in the country.