Islamabad: Opposition parties in the National Assembly on Tuesday decided to form a committee to devise a joint opposition strategy in and outside the parliament on various issues, including a second extension in the tenure of military courts.
The decision was taken at a meeting of opposition leaders hosted by Leader of Opposition in the NA Shahbaz Sharif over lunch in his chamber at Parliament House.
Speaking to reporters after the nearly two-hour-long meeting, Shahbaz said the opposition leaders had decided to form a committee to design a joint strategy and deal with the government on various issues.
The committee, which according to Shahbaz will have representation from all opposition parties, will also be responsible for holding negotiations with the government on the issue of an extension in the tenure of military courts. “The combined opposition will adopt whatever path is in the national interest,” he added.
The leader of the opposition also criticised the “worst incompetence” of the PTI government and once again termed as “cronyism” the government’s move to award the Mohmand dam contract to a consortium led by Deacon, which he alleged was owned by a sitting adviser to the prime minister.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari — who attended the meeting along with his father, former president Asif Ali Zardari — in his remarks said the opposition’s human and democratic rights were under attack from all sides by the government, but the opposition leaders were “not ready to compromise” on these two rights.
“The opposition has today decided on a very good strategy to form a committee and have a joint opposition inside the parliament as well as outside,” the PPP chairman said.
Meanwhile, asked whether the opposition parties would come together in the shape of an alliance, Zardari responded: “The union HAS taken place.” Shahbaz, the PML-N president, had earlier welcomed Zardari to the meeting with a hug, as the two main opposition parties increasingly appear to join hands to give the PTI-led government a tough time.
Also in attendance were PPP’s Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) MNAs Maulana Asad Mehmood and Maulana Abdul Wasay, Awami National Party leader Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal, a Balochistan National Party representative and other leaders.
An elaborate menu was on offer at the luncheon, including seafood, the traditional dishes of qourma and pulao, homemade vegetables and dessert.
