In a tit-for-tat, Shehbaz calls Bilawal to discuss APC

Reportedly, differences emerged between PML-N and PPP over refusal of former to give fixed date for conference

LAHORE:

In a bid to negate the impression that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was shying away from holding a Multi Parties Conference or popularly known as All Parties Conference (APC), Nawaz league President Shehbaz Sharif telephoned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on Wednesday.

According a statement issued by PML-N, both the leaders deliberated on the date of holding the APC and discussed the agenda of the meeting.

Bilawal enquired about the health of Shehbaz, while the PML-N president asked about the well-being of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

This is the second time both leaders have discussed the APC over phone.

On June 26, Bilawal called Shehbaz, who was then suffering from Covid-19 and had been in isolation.

The PML-N president, at that time, accepted the proposal of holding the APC, and a date was expected to be given soon by both the leaders.

Soon after, the PPP and even the members of PML-N expected Shehbaz to call back Bilawal and finalise a date, since meeting the Nawaz league president was out of the question due to his illness.

However, when Shehbaz recovered on July 5, and Bilawal too was in Lahore at the time, chances for both the leaders to hold a meeting brightened but in vain.

On Tuesday, reports starting doing rounds that differences had started to emerge between the PML-N and PPP over refusal of the former to give a fixed date for the APC.

Apparently, to dispel the impression, a day after Bilawal left for Karachi, Shehbaz called the PPP chairman to discuss what already had been deliberated before.

Speaking on the issue, PPP Punjab parliamentary leader Hassan Murtaza observed that the PML-N should not “play on both sides of the gallery”.

He suggested that the Nawaz league should once and for all decide their stance rather than changing their position. 

“PML-N should realise that PPP has faced a lot of criticism for joining hands with the party [Nawaz league] and for forgetting all the political victimisation it [PPP] has been subjected to,” he said.

“It seems that the PML-N wants to give PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) more time in the government,” he added.

“In view of our party and general public, this government should not be given more time to ruin the lives of people.”

However, Nawaz league leader Malik Mohammad Ahmed Khan was of the view that there was no postponement on part of the PML-N regarding the holding of APC but a few modalities needed to be discussed before deciding the final date for the conference.

Khan maintained that committees would be formed which would deliberate on the issues to be discussed in the APC.

“We want the APC to be successful and do not want opposition to be divided as it was before the last round of APCs,” he said.

In a related development, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) would be holding an APC in Karachi on Thursday (today).

It will be its third provincial APC with first held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and second in Balochistan.

According to PPP leader Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had invited Bilawal to attend the APC.

Kaira stated that PPP had accepted the invitation and the party would participate in it.

He noted that the JUI-F summoned APC would only address the issue of Balochistan.

Deliberating on the holding of the main APC, Kairra said that PPP would take all the opposition parties on board for the purpose.

“The proposed agenda items for the APC from PPP side are Covid-19 situation and its handling, post corona situation, government’s decision to temper with NFC and 18th amendment,” he said.