ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani opposition alliance said on Monday it was finalizing its anti-government protest strategy including a long-march on Islamabad along with shutter-down and wheel-jam strikes across the country to oust the government.
A steering committee of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of some nine opposition parties, has prepared suggestions and proposals for the movement which would be presented to a meeting of the heads of its component parties on Tuesday.
The opposition parties have been struggling to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan since September 2020 when they formed the PDM alliance and launched their anti-government campaign.
Khan’s party won the July 2018 general elections in Pakistan, though the opposition has always maintained that the electoral contest was rigged and manipulated.
However, the government vehemently denies the charge.
“A long-march [on Islamabad] can be held in March while a sit-in also remains one of the options,” Hafiz Hamdullah, a PDM spokesperson, told reporters after a four-hour steering committee meeting held in the federal capital.
The opposition parties have already been holding mass gatherings in different cities of the country as part of their public mobilization campaign before initiating a “decisive push” against the government next year.
Hamdullah said a public gathering in Lahore, long-march, wheel-jam and shutter-down strikes were on the opposition’s agenda, adding that a high-level PDM meeting on Tuesday would review these suggestions and take the final decision.
He informed it had also been decided in today’s meeting to move the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the recent electoral reforms passed by a joint sitting of parliament.
The government made use of electronic voting machines mandatory in the next general elections through its recent legislation, besides granting voting rights to about nine million overseas Pakistanis.
Referring to a recent audio leak of a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Hamdullah said questions were being raised over the integrity of the judiciary while the opposition had also expressed their reservations over judicial matters.
“We will play on both the pitches by doing things in and out of parliament,” he said as he responded to a question regarding the possibility of en masse resignations of the opposition members from parliament to bring down the government.
Two major opposition parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party and Awami National Party, previously left the PDM since they did not agree with the alliance’s anti-government strategy.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam are now the only two major opposition factions in the PDM alliance.
Pakistan’s opposition alliance hints at anti-government ‘long march’ next year
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Pakistan’s opposition alliance hints at anti-government ‘long march’ next year
- Top Pakistan Democratic Movement leaders will consider various options to bring down the government before finalizing their strategy on Tuesday
- The PDM has been struggling to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan since September 2020 when the alliance was formed
Pakistan says Azerbaijan close to finalizing $2 billion investment deal
- Shehbaz Sharif discusses investment ties in meeting with Azerbaijani presidential envoy
- Deal builds on growing energy cooperation, including SOCAR’s footprint in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday Pakistan was close to finalizing a $2 billion investment agreement with Azerbaijan, as he met a senior representative of President Ilham Aliyev amid Islamabad’s push to attract foreign capital into key sectors.
Sharif made the remarks during a meeting with Khalaf Khalafov, Azerbaijan’s presidential representative on special assignments, at the Prime Minister’s Office, according to an official statement.
The talks come as Pakistan seeks large-scale foreign investment to shore up its economy and strengthen energy security, with Azerbaijan emerging as a key partner.
“Welcoming the Azerbaijani dignitary, the Prime Minister recalled the warm fraternal bonds between Pakistan and Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to further strengthen bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, in all areas of mutual interest,” the statement said.
“While noting that both sides were close to finalizing the agreement for USD 2 billion investment by Azerbaijan in Pakistan, the Prime Minister reiterated his invitation to President Aliyev to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience,” it added.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s finance ministry said that Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR was set to finalize an investment in the country’s oil and gas sector following high-level engagements at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as Islamabad works to stabilize energy supply, reduce costs and improve contractual transparency.
SOCAR already operates in Pakistan through SOCAR Trading, which supplies up to one LNG cargo per month without take-or-pay obligations, giving Pakistan greater flexibility in managing demand and pricing.
Regional issues were also discussed during Friday’s meeting.
Khalafov thanked Pakistan for its diplomatic support during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict — a brief but intense war between Azerbaijan and Armenia that ended with Baku regaining control of large parts of the disputed territory — and reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s longstanding support for Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, the statement said.
Pakistan and Azerbaijan have expanded economic and strategic ties in recent years, including defense and security cooperation.
