–Kaira says PPP to play role of strong opposition
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) delegation led by Raja Zafarul Haq went to the residence of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari to seek his party’s support to form a strong opposition in the National Assembly (NA), a local news outlet reported on Sunday.
The delegation, comprising Senator Chaudhry Tanveer, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Anjum Aqeel besides Raja Zafarul Haq, presented the PPP leader with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s message of forming a strong opposition in order to raise their voices against the government inside and outside the parliament to give it a tough time.
Bukhari told the delegation that their message would be conveyed to the party leaders and following internal discussions on the matter, they would be informed of the party’s decision.
The PML-N delegation also made an offer to PPP to field joint candidates in the upcoming by-elections, to which Bukhari said that the candidates who were runner-ups in the general elections should be fielded as joint candidates and directed that a list be prepared in this regard.
Reportedly, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif will go to Islamabad on Monday where he will contact PPP leaders to discuss this matter.
Previously, both parties failed to reach consensus on a joint nominee for the posts of prime minister and president. PML-N had nominated Shehbaz Sharif for the office of the prime minister but PPP refused to vote for him and boycotted the election. Later, rifts emerged between the two parties when PPP fielded Aitzaz Ahsan for the presidential election without consulting the opposition. PML-N expressed reservations over Ahsan’s nomination and a consensus could not be reached to field a joint candidate. Both times, the lack of unity between the two parties paved way for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to clinch the top posts.
‘PPP TO PROVIDE STRONG OPPOSITION IN ASSEMBLIES’:
PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Sunday said that abiding by the norms of democracy, PPP would continue to play the role of a strong opposition in the assemblies.
Talking to the media, he said that PPP has never favoured the politics of protest rather it has always adopted a more pleasant way of pursuing its political objectives, adding that when certain parties wanted to boycott the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected lawmakers of NA, PPP opposed the idea.
Talking about PPP’s refusal to support Shehbaz, he said that PPP did not support him because of his behaviour towards the party in the past.
He further said that the PTI leadership should focus on resolving the problems of the people in order to provide them with some relief.
