ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif met Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday, a day before the planned PDM meeting in a bid to keep the conglomerate intact.

While Mr Sharif reportedly showed the intention that the other major opposition party Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) be also brought back into the alliance, it was agreed that the PDM meeting would take a final decision on the matter on Saturday (today).

The meeting took place amid media reports that there is a rift between two PML-N groups, one being led by the party president and the other by the daughter of party’s supreme leader.

Sources said Mr Shehbaz, who was accompanied by Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb during his visit to the residence of Maulana Fazl, also floated the idea of a grand dialogue between the government and the opposition to address basic problems confronting the country and its citizens. However, senior party leaders Maryam Nawaz and ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi were not part of the PML-N delegation.

Just a day ago, Mr Shehbaz in a TV show Dunya Kamran Khan Ke Sath had hinted at his plan to convince and bring back his elder brother and the PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif to the country from the UK in the larger national interest.

During the interview, the opposition leader said he believed that Mr Nawaz would be willing to play his part in country’s progress if there were free, fair and transparent elections; every institution worked within its respective domain; there was rule of law in the country; and a roadmap was devised with the input of all stakeholders.

He said he heard it that Gen Bajwa himself had admitted Nawaz Sharif gave him respect. Even at home, he added, there could be disputes.

Read: The PML-N’s change of tack

About Maryam Nawaz, the opposition leader said she was in politics and so was his son Hamza Shehbaz who spent 21 months in jail.

While responding to a question at a joint press with the Maulana after the Friday meeting, Mr Shehbaz said it was not the prerogative of a single (opposition) party to include or exclude any other parties (from the alliance).

Maulana Fazl said the PPP should accept the stance of “nine PDM member parties” and should not try to impose its own point of view. “PPP considers only itself wise and not the nine other parties in the alliance,” he added.

The JUI-F chief said due to faulty policies of the PTI government the country was suffering from unbearable losses. “Now those who had brought this selected prime minister in the power should review their decision,” he remarked.

He accused the government of giving military bases to the US forces. “If it happens it will bring a new war in Pakistan and will also not be acceptable to our neighbouring countries like Iran,” he said.

Read: No US military or air base in Pakistan, says FO

Maulana Fazl criticised the government of changing the curriculum of seminaries without considering the ground realities and without taking all stakeholders onboard. He believed the ruling party would show ‘flawed and false’ figures of improvement in the economy in the upcoming budget.

Mr Shehbaz also criticised the government for committing ‘corruption’ and that the scandals had adversely affected anti-Covid efforts. “If there were no sugar, wheat, gas, and oil scams, the money plundered in them could be spent on a better vaccination system against the deadly disease,” he added.

Recalling his term as Punjab chief minister in the previous government, Mr Shehbaz explained how effectively the government had tackled dengue fever. “A study had feared that 25,000 people would die from dengue but we acted sagaciously, with the result that only 25 people became victim of the disease,” he claimed.

PML-N spokesperson Ms Aurangzeb said: “The issue of upcoming budget was also discussed [at the meeting with the JUI-F] and Shehbaz sahib stressed the need for a joint strategy of the opposition to resist the government from taking anti-people economic decisions.”

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the government was ready to sit with the opposition on all national issues, but the process of accountability would continue.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2021