Pakistan's opposition alliance denies claims of internal divisions

Opposition leaders (R to L) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Owais Noorani, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) joint hands as they arrive to attend an anti-government rally in Lahore on Dec. 13, 2020. (AFP/File)

• The Pakistan Democratic Movement is stronger than before and more determined to bring down the government, says Fazlur Rehman
• The opposition alliance has decided to contest by-elections, though it is yet to announce its strategy for Senate polls

ISLAMABAD: The top leader of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) denied any political differences within the 11-party opposition coalition while addressing the media in Lahore on Friday.
"The PDM is stronger than before," said Maulana Fazlur Rehman who leads his own faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam party. "We are also more determined than ever to bring down this government."
The opposition alliance was established last year in September to launch an anti-government movement against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration that assumed the country's political power after the 2018 general elections.
PDM leaders have frequently questioned the transparency of the electoral exercise and maintained that Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government was "selected" by the defense and security establishment of Pakistan.
Briefing the media after a meeting of opposition leaders that lasted for several hours, Rehman said that all outstanding issues were meticulously debated and reviewed by the participants.
He said that the alliance had instructed its representatives in the national and provincial assemblies to send their resignations to their respective party chiefs by December 31.
"We have these resignations with us, and we are now giving a month's notice to this government to step down," he said.
Rehman maintained that the prime minister was "a pawn," adding that the PDM considered the country's "establishment and military" responsible for creating the present political system.
Asked about the alliance's future course of action, he said it was ready for a "long march," though it was yet to be decided whether the caravan would go to Islamabad or Rawalpindi.
The PDM leader commented it was up to the establishment if it wanted to maintain its political primacy or pay attention to its constitutional responsibilities.
He also noted that the alliance was ready to stage protest demonstration outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) offices in the country.
"This is not accountability," he said. "What we are witnessing is vengeance."
Responding to a question, Rehman said that the PDM was going to participate in by-elections, though it had yet to decide its strategy for the upcoming Senate polls.
"We want to play our cards wisely," he continued.
Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz told the local media after the PDM news conference that any protest outside the ECP or NAB buildings would be unconstitutional and amount to threatening state institutions.
He dismissed Rehman's claims, saying it was clear that the opposition alliance had failed to reach any significant decisions during the meeting.