PPP unhappy with PDM’s ‘unilateral decision’ of march towards Rawalpindi

–Bilawal working on strategy to alienate PM Imran by luring MQM-P, PML-Q
ISLAMABAD: The new challenge faced by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership is regarding Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s announcement on the alliance’s proposed protest march towards the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the military in Rawalpindi, sources in the opposition alliance informed Pakistan Today.
A source in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also said that the former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has expressed reservations over what he called the ‘unilateral’ announcement by the Fazl.
Zardari has alleged that the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif had taken the decision themselves and made the announcement without consulting the other allies.
“Pakistan People’s Party is strongly against the sit-in in front of GHQ and march towards Rawalpindi. Zardari believes that the proposal was discussed between Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz Sharif while the PPP was kept in dark,” the source said.
Zardari has raised a point of contention on why the other parties were not consulted on this issue. The source said that Nawaz did not consult the PPP and other allies before making the controversial speech in the Gujranwala rally where he named the army chief and top spy of the country as those made “a state above a state”.
Furthermore, there seem to be reservations within the PML-N about the hasty decisions as well, and some party members feel that Nawaz is being influenced by the inexperienced Maryam and a vengeful Fazl.
The source said that the JUI-F chief has been assured by the PML-N that whether the long march is towards Islamabad or towards Rawalpindi, the Sharifs will abide by the decision.
Sources also informed Pakistan Today that while the JUI-F and PML-N are working to put pressure on the GHQ, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has devised a strategy to alienate the ruling party by luring away their allies.
The source said that Bilawal and Asif Zardari are working behind the scenes to lure Mutahidda Qoumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to their side, as the parties are also unhappy with PM Imran’s treatment of his government allies.
Bilawal believed that he would be able to convince the MQM-P and the PML-Q and once he gets their support, it would be easy for him to convince the other stakeholders to give him a green signal to replace PM Imran through a no confidence move.

Mian Abrar
The writer heads Pakistan Today's Islamabad Bureau. He has a special focus on counter-terrorism and inter-state relations in Asia, Asia Pacific and South East Asia regions. He can be reached at [email protected]

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