Islamabad: Pakistan government has asked the opposition parties to delay their March 23 protest due to the military parade on Pakistan Day and the presence of the foreign dignitaries in Islamabad during the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting.
“You have a right to hold a long march. We have no issues as long as it is peaceful. All we are saying is … let the session happen on 22 and 23 and post-OIC you are welcome to do what you want to,” Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during a press conference on Tuesday.
The foreign minister earlier warned the opposition that the government would not allow anyone to “interfere” in the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting which is scheduled to take place in Islamabad on March 22-23. Representatives of 48 countries have confirmed participation in the 48th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Islamabad.
The foreign minister said that the country had sent invitations to all Muslim states for the event, adding that “it is a great honour for Pakistan to host the 48th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.” The OIC foreign ministers will be “guests of honour” at the parade.
The government’s reaction came after the chief of opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman asked supporters of the opposition to begin a long march towards the capital on March 23. The opposition has apparently turned down the government’s request to delay their protest.
March 27 long march
The opposition announced its rally hours after the announcement by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to arrange a gathering of one million people at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on March 27 before the voting on the crucial no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s top opposition leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif met at Sharif’s residence on Monday night to discuss their no-confidence strategy. The major opposition party PPP is not a part of the PDM alliance.
PTI reaches out to allies
PTI leaders have been engaged in talks and meetings with the government’s allies to win back their support. The government allies include Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). MQM has the highest number of seven MNAs followed by five each by the PML-Q and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and three by the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). PTI leaders have claimed that three of their parliamentarians had been offered Rs160 to Rs200 million by the opposition to change their loyalty and vote against the prime minister.
Balochistan party assures PM of support
On Monday, PM Imran Khan visited Parliament Lodges to meet BAP and GDA leaders in a bid to strengthen the ruling alliance amid the opposition’s efforts to win their support for the no-confidence motion. During the meeting, BAP leaders expressed reservations on a number of issues. GDA leaders have reportedly reassured their support to the prime minister while seeking his attention towards the development of the neglected regions.
