Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday advised opposition parties to merge into a new political party instead of an alliance to contest the upcoming local government elections.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, the federal minister said:

"They [opposition parties] should merge into one party instead of making an alliance. They should pick [Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana] Fazlur Rehman as their leader and [PPP Chairman] Bilawal Bhutto-[Zardari] and [PML-N Vice President] Maryam [Nawaz] should join the [new political] party."

The federal minister added that PDM should contest elections as one political party to achieve "some semblance of a national colour because separately they don't have the ability".

He said all opposition parties had become region-specific parties instead of national entities, adding that PPP was limited to interior Sindh, PML-N to central Punjab and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said it was "unfortunate" that the party of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had "met this fate" — referring to its alleged national decline — and added that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had "destroyed the party in a way even [General] Ziaul Haq couldn't".

The PDM had announced on Thursday after an hours-long meeting of their alliance that the opposition parties in it would contest the upcoming Senate elections jointly.

Reacting to the development, Fawad said at Thursday's PDM announcement, "Bilawal and Maryam had worn masks but despite that there was disappointment in their eyes at PDM's condition."

The federal minister said the PDM had "sunken deep in disappointment" because they don't know what to do since according to him their efforts to get relief from the courts or a National Reconci­liation Ordinance-like concession had failed.

Provincial funds

The minister also addressed the provincial financial fund, saying the Supreme Court (SC) had admitted the petition for distribution of the fund.

He said he was "keenly looking" at how the SC went forward on the issue because "the flow of [development] projects in [the] provinces will start through this."

He also stated that as a result of the sugar commission, the farmers of Pakistan for the first time were getting their fair price for sugarcane which "has gone from Rs230 to between Rs270".

He added that farmers were now paid advance prices before the sugarcane was sent to the processing mills.

The minister also touched upon electric vehicles and said "a new gamechanger policy" had been brought because of which many consumers would switch to electric vehicles within a year.

He further said the government was having regular meetings on the issue of virtual currencies in Pakistan and a working group had already been formed.

"We will try to make a policy on them within the next three months."