Shehbaz, Fazl agree to rev up anti-govt drive

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday decided to step up the anti-government drive to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In a telephonic conversation, the opposition leaders decided to intensify the efforts against the government as well as take legal opinions on the no-trust vote against the prime minister.

Shehbaz took Fazl, who also heads the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), into confidence over meeting with Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President Akhtar Mengal.

Mengal, who met Shehbaz at his residence in Lahore, had said the BNP-M agreed to the decisions taken by the joint opposition so far.

He had revealed that the meeting discussed the no-confidence motion, adding that they had held two to three meetings before on the same matter. “The opposition parties have done their homework on the future strategy.”

No-trust move

It is expected that the opposition will submit a no-trust motion against the premier in the first half of March.

Read Opposition’s no-trust plan 'gaining steam'

The opposition parties have also been trying to woo the government’s allies – the PML-Q and MQM-P. The PML-N, PPP and JUI-F have been holding discussions among themselves as well as reaching out to the coalition partners of the ruling party, hoping that they would support the opposition when needed.

They have not only been pinning hopes on the allies but also claim that PTI lawmakers were in touch with them, saying the ruling party’s parliamentarians were only waiting for a signal from the “powerful circles” before jumping ship.

Despite the opposition’s frequent meetings in recent weeks to seek the allies’ support, the coalition partners have only preferred to carefully raise their reservations over the policies but have not yet distanced themselves from the government.

The government spokespersons, however, appear confident, saying the opposition will fail against the government and the prime minister will emerge stronger.