By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Referring to an apparent collapse of the multiparty opposition alliance, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Monday that both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had parted ways under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) due to conflict of interests.
Addressing a news conference after inaugurating the Quaid-e-Azam’s rehabilitated portrait at Islamabad Expressway, which was collapsed due to overnight rain last year, he said both the parties had remained arch political rivals in the past but made the alliance under the PDM’s banner only to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan. He claimed that their political moves posed no threat to the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which had already completed its three years successfully.
The minister said the government had nothing to do with the infighting of the PDM’s component parties, rather it happened due to their own incompetency. “It led to the visible cracks deep inside the opposition alliance.” He urged the opposition parties to support the government in the Parliament for major reforms including political, legal, electoral, and municipal reforms for the development of the country.
Rashid regarded Prime Minister Imran Khan as ‘the skipper of politics’ and expressed his resolve for supporting him through all the thick and thins.
The minister said the prime focus of the government was to address the basic issues of the masses such as inflation, adding, “Imran Khan sticks to his stance against corruption as the people of the country wanted full recovery of the looted money.”
He said it was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a ruling government would be issuing 100,000 National Identity Card (NIC) across the country. The mobile vans of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) would reach each district of the country for registration of the citizens’ CNICs, he added.
He vowed to transform Islamabad into a ‘city of parks and gardens’ by rooting out the land mafia in the federal capital. The glory of federal capital would be restored during the tenure of the Pakistan Tahreek-e Insaf government, the minister maintained.
At present, he said some five big and 231 small parks were existed in the capital city, adding each of them would be renovated after 15 days of interval.
He said a multipurpose sports park would be built around the Quaid’s portrait, which was re-erected on a hillock along the Express Highway near Koral Interchange, after its fencing. The site would be developed within a short span of time to provide recreational opportunities to the passerby, he added.
Earlier on March 17, the 10-party Opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) stands dysfunctional, virtually, for the time being as PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced to postpone the long march after the main Opposition party, Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) didn’t agree on the en masse resignations from the Assemblies.
After chairing the alliance’s over 6 hours long meeting, Fazl briefly appeared before the media just to announce that the long march scheduled for March 26th has been postponed.
With a frustration-wearing face, Fazl announced, “The Tuesday’s meeting was to discuss the long march. On the issue of resignations, 9 parties agreed to link resignations with the long march, however, PPP has reservations on this point and they have sought time to discuss the issue in their party meeting.
“Until we get a response from the PPP, the long march stands postponed,” said Fazl apparently with a heavy heart and walked away from the dais silently as Maryam Nawaz, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others present there. Maulana didn’t even listen to the PDM leaders, asking the latter to take questions from the media.
