Bizenjo meets PPP leadership for talks on ‘grand alliance’

NP leader hopes efforts against PTI policies will bring tangible results

KARACHI: National Party (NP) leader Senator Hasil Bizenjo met Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-Chairman Asif Zardari on Wednesday and discussed ways to forge a strong alliance between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in and outside parliament.

Senate Deputy Chairman Salim Mandviwala was also present in the talks at the Bilawal House, which, according to the leaders of both the parties, were a routine meeting that discussed the “current political situation” of the country.

However, sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that an in-house change in the Senate and forming a grand democratic alliance of the opposition parties were the main agenda of the meeting. Bizenjo also confirmed that he discussed these issues in the meeting.

“We need a strong alliance outside parliament,” Bizenjo told The Express Tribune, confirming that his meeting at Bilawal House revolved around the grand alliance issue. “Democratic forces cannot afford a single party rule, which has been imposed on Pakistan,” he said.

“I am [also] going to meet Nawaz Sharif on this issue and hope I will get good results,” said the senator from Balochistan who had served as a federal minister in the previous government led by PML-N. He stressed that the alliance of the opposition parties was the need of the hour.

Officially, the PPP remained tight-lipped about the talks. The spokesperson for the Bilawal House said: “Current political situation was discussed.” No other PPP leader was available to offer comments on the meeting despite repeated attempts.

Sources privy to the meeting said that Senator Bizenjo, who is close to Nawaz Sharif, had come to bridge a gap between the PPP and the PML-N. “First attempt will be an inside change in the Senate and then agitation against the government outside parliament,” the sources said.

According to the sources, the PPP is not ready for agitation, given the money laundering cases against Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, while the PML-N leadership is also avoiding it and suggesting pursuing the matter in the court of law.

“We believe that the prime minister and his cabinet’s policies will sink the federal government in the coming days, so there is no need for agitation on the streets. Nawaz Sharif has flatly refused this way of agitation. We can join hands inside parliament,” added a PML-N leader, requesting anonymity.

PML-N’s Khehal Das Kohistani said that the opposition parties had already joined hands in parliament on genuine issues and it was premature to comment on a grand alliance or a movement against the government on the streets. “We opt for democratic struggle in parliament and judiciary,” he added.

This is not the first attempt on the part of opposition parties against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government. Previously, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman held frequent meetings with leadership of both parties but could not bring them on a single platform.

When Bizenjo was asked about Fazl’s efforts, he said: “We have almost the same mission -- to get rid of the PTI policies. Our efforts will bring tangible results.” Responding to another question about the change in the Senate, he said: “Once we are united, this is very easy. We can do it.”

The National Party leader expressed dismay over the federal government’s decision to slash the development budget of the provinces by 60% and the attempts to abolish the 18th Amendment.