PML-N wants JUI-F's long march deferred till November 'for better mobilisation'

Published September 30, 2019
PML-N Ahsan Iqbal speaks to reporters in Lahore on Monday. — DawnNewsTV

— DawnNewsTV/File
PML-N Ahsan Iqbal speaks to reporters in Lahore on Monday. — DawnNewsTV — DawnNewsTV/File

The PML-N on Monday formed a committee to hold consultations with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and other opposition parties before committing to a final date for their anti-government protest.

The committee's formation was announced by senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, who was speaking to reporters after a meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) chaired by its president, Shahbaz Sharif, in Lahore.

He said the PML-N will cooperate with every movement that is aimed at bringing down the PTI government, including the JUI-F's proposed long march scheduled for October.

However, Iqbal said a majority of the participants of the meeting had agreed that the protest should be deferred until November because the PML-N needed to "fully mobilise" its ranks for any anti-government movement. In this regard, the party has formed divisional committees to speed up mobilisation efforts.

He said the party will recommend to the JUI-F to immediately call an 'all-parties conference' of the opposition to take other parties on board to make the protest a success.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had last month announced that his party planned a "decisive" long march aimed at ousting the present government in October.

He had warned the government against making any effort to disrupt the planned march and expressed hope that people "from all walks of life and from all over the country" will reach Islamabad to participate in what he called an "Azadi March" to free the country of the present "incompetent and illegitimate government".

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...