Tag: Opp

SANAA - The Yemeni opposition has called for an escalation in anti-regime demonstrations to force President Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave after the embattled leader refused to quit, a spokeman said on Sunday. "We have called upon the people to widen demonstrations, and escalate the peaceful struggle in all regions until he (Saleh) is left with one option, that is to leave," said Mohammed Sabri, a leading member of the Common Forum opposition alliance.
The veteran leader, who has

LAHORE - PPP Punjab senior leader Raja Riaz was named the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday after PML-Q's Chaudhry Zaheeruddin resigned from the post, saying his party always respected other parties' mandate.
Early in the day, outgoing opposition leader Chaudhry Zaheer submitted his resignation with the PA speaker. Soon after that, Raja Riaz and several other PPP-backed MPAs called on Speaker Rana Iqbal and submitted two applications. The PPP's two

ISLAMABAD - Angry lawmakers from both treasury and opposition benches staged three separate token walkouts from the National Assembly on Tuesday to register their protest against the recent increase in petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) prices.
The two major opposition parties - the PML-N and PML-Q - staged separate token walkouts from the House following the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which belongs to the treasury benches. Speaking on a point of order, Haider Abbas Rizvi

TEHRAN - Furious Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday demanded the hanging of opposition leaders who had called anti-government protests which left one person dead, saying they had been "misled" by Iran's arch-foes.
MPs singled out Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who had called for protests in Tehran on Monday in support of Arab uprisings that quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations and ended in clashes with police in which several people were hurt, including nine

KHARTOUM - Sudanese security services on Thursday arrested prominent government critic Mariam al-Mahdi, daughter of the premier whom President Omar al-Bashir ousted in a 1989 coup, as a crackdown on the opposition gathered pace. Mahdi was arrested in Khartoum as she went with a group of activists to petition the security forces for the release of protesters detained nearly two weeks ago, a member of her Umma party said.
"The minute we stepped out of the car they arrested her,"

ISLAMABAD - As President Asif Ali Zardari is striving hard to make his roundtable conference a success, the opposition seems wary of the agenda of the moot, with the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif pressing for the implementation of his 10-point agenda within the 45-day time limit.
Zardari continued consultations with political leaders for the second consecutive day, the most significant being his telephone call to Nawaz for inviting him to attend the proposed moot. A source in the

TEHRAN - Iran's opposition leaders lashed out at the country's Islamic regime on Tuesday, saying the "oppressive and anti-religion" establishment was hurting the Islamic republic the most.
The bitter criticism from Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, once seen as pillars of the Islamic regime, comes three days before 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution that toppled the US-backed shah. "Today, the regime is hiding behind this concern that if it does not exist, religion

ISLAMABAD - Urging the government to mend its ways, the opposition on Monday warned the treasury benches of an uprising in Pakistan such as those in Tunisia and Egypt, anticipating that Pakistan was fast forwarding to a revolt.
Taking part in the debate on the price hike in the country, Humayoun Saifullah of the PML-Q urged the government to introduce reforms in the existing financial system to check the mounting inflation. Bahadur Khan Sihar said a constitutional amendment

LAHORE - Punjab Law minister Rana Sana Ullah faced the toughest day in the house since Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) took over the charge of the present legislative assembly.
Opposition members made harsh comments about the Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah, reminding him that "we know what he was and what he used to say about PML-N leaders," adding that they even had evidence to support this claim.
They did not let Sanaullah speak

ISLAMABAD - Despite resistance from his economic managers and cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday decided to revert the recently-announced increase in petrol prices, calling it a political decision.
A source who attended the prime minister's meeting with parliamentary party heads told Pakistan Today that Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in his one-hour long briefing to participants defended the hike in POL prices, saying it was almost

ISLAMABAD - Opposition parties on Monday put the treasury in the dock over the unprecedented increase in the prices of petroleum products . No one from the minority government, including the petroleum minister, could justify the decision as the protesting members chanted slogans against the government.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was not present in the House as he was in Lahore for his meetings with the PML-N and the PML-Q leadership, seeking their support for his falling

LAHORE: The opposition parties are skeptical about the prospects of the reversal of JUI-F's decision to quit the coalition government, however, the PPP believes the issue will be resolved amicably. PPP Secretary Information Fauzia Wahab said the party had historic relations with the JUI-F and the government would bring all allies back in its fold by addressing their grievances.
However, she made it clear that her party and the government would not initiate any step that might

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Thursday recommended rationalising of penalties under the reformed general sales tax (RGST) and tax exemption for food items, medicines and educational stationery.
The committee also included the dissenting notes of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), PML-Quaid (PML-Q) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in its report to the Senate.
All opposing political parties

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the Upper House of parliament on Wednesday stood divided on attending a dinner hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari as 21 Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) legislators attended the banquet while 13 senators of the PML-Nawaz, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and minor parties from Balochistan boycotted the dinner, terming it a ploy to win support for the General Sales Tax (GST).
Those who boycotted the dinner included seven senators from the PML-N, three from

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday belied the myth that the speaker was impartial, as he became a party against the opposition by again stopping it from moving a resolution to reject spiraling prices of the petroleum products as well as other commodities.
As opposition parties protested with bench-thumping and sloganeering against what they called anti-people policies of the government, the deputy speaker ignored their protest and hurriedly

ISLAMABAD: As the government blocked a joint resolution by the Pakistan Muslim League-N and the PML-Q in the National Assembly against spiraling prices, Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan vowed on Wednesday that the opposition would not let the PPP-led government pass any bill to impose more taxes on the people.
The house was up in arms when the government went out of its way to block the resolution which the opposition parties were pushing through. Realizing that things

KARACHI: The opposition is shedding its tag of being 'friendly' and is getting set to give a tough time to the government.
Addressing a gathering near Khairpur on Tuesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said his party had tried to be patient and tolerant with the government's decisions, but will now oppose them with 'full force.'
Nawaz said he would go against all such steps that increase corruption and stoke prices to new heights. He said the public