ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Tuesday invited the PPP, a key ally of the ruling PML-N in the Centre, to attend a multiparty conference that is being planned by the opposition.
For its part, the PPP said it “welcomes the move” and would forward the invitation to the party’s chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. The TTAP would then be informed of his stance.
The development was confirmed in separate but similar statements by the two sides.
The opposition had first announced its intention to hold a multiparty moot on Sept 11, with the PTI leading the initiative. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had outlined plans to hold the conference, saying that “the current law and order situation, the economy, inflation, lawlessness, and the creation of new provinces issue” called for such measures.
His statement to the media came after a meeting with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leaders, who have agreed to attend the opposition’s moot.
A delegation of the TTAP, led by Barrister Gohar, called on PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari at the party’s Central Secretariat in Islamabad and formally invited his party to the moot as well, statements by the two sides said.
The delegation also included Leader of Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Senator Zeeshan Akhunzada and TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai.
The TTAP delegation briefed Bukhari on the objectives and purpose of the planned multiparty conference, the statements said.
They also discussed the political situation in the country, supremacy of the Constitution, strengthening of democratic institutions, contacts between political parties and other matters.
The statements quoted Bukhari as saying that the PPP considered “engagement and consultation with political parties on constitutional and democratic matters important”.
Speaking to Dawn after the meeting, TTAP spokesperson Yousafzai said the multiparty conference would be held after PTI’s protest, which is scheduled for Oct 4 to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
“We have started a meeting with the representatives of political parties so that the date and venue for the moot is finalised,” he said, adding that since the PPP had taken a clear stance over the creation of new provinces, the opposition had decided to invite it as well.
In the recent past, the proposal for the creation of new administrative units was first floated by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in July. The proposition drew strong reactions from government ministers, while the country’s leading lawyers’ bodies adopted divergent positions.
The PPP, which rules Sindh, has strongly opposed any division of the province and maintains that any decision to create new provinces must be taken through the constitutional and parliamentary process and with political consensus.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the PPP and the PML-N had also been strained lately during acrimonious election campaigns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The TTAP also plans invite other parties to the opposition’s moot.
Yousafzai said Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaat-i-Islami would also be invited to the moot, but the ruling PML-N and its ally in the Centre, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, would not be extended an invitation.
Barrister Gohar also spoke to the media after the meeting with Bukhari.
He said the role of political parties was important for the “strength of democracy”.
“Democracy becomes strong when public’s voice is valued … and their mandate is valued,” he noted.
Gohar added that coordinated efforts were required from all political parties, such that they could have a “one-point agenda” on matters such as a “free election commission, provincial autonomy or other discussions about the provinces”.
He expressed his hope for a positive response from the PPP on the invitation for the multi-party conference.
The TTAP has also formed a six-member committee to hold consultations with political parties and reach an agreement on the agenda for the proposed MPC.
