PDM chief Fazl asks Opposition lawmakers to hand in resignations to party heads by Dec 31

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has asked all Opposition parliamentarians to send their resignations to their party heads by December 31, as the PDM gears up to hold its rally in Lahore on Sunday. 

Read more: PDM mulls future strategy in high-level meeting in Islamabad

"All Opposition lawmakers, from the national and provincial assemblies throughout the country, should send in their resignations to their respective party leaderships by December 31," said the JUI-F leader and the PDM chief, flanked by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz. 

Read more: 'Aar ya Paar': Maryam Nawaz says PDM's Lahore jalsa to show govt's days are numbered

The PDM president said that a standing committee of the Opposition's alliance will be held which will decide the schedule of strikes, protests and jalsas in various divisional headquarters of the country. 

"It will also be decided when to hold the long march [against the government] and its date will also be decided," he said. 

Fazl said that the PDM's upcoming Lahore jalsa will be a "historic" one, and will prove to be the "last nail" for the government. 

When asked whether the PDM was afraid of a crackdown by the government, Fazl said that the alliance hadn't even thought about it. 

"The government has been affected, the legs of its chair are shaking," he said. "All that is needed now is one push."

The JUI-F chief stated categorically that if the Opposition lawmakers decide to resign from the assemblies, they will not backtrack from the decision later. 

"We will not end up licking our resignations," he said, when asked whether the PDM lawmakers will take a U-turn after resigning. "Once we give them [resignations], we will not lick them like they did," he said, referring to various lawmakers of the PTI who had resigned during the 2014 dharna but then returned to the Parliament a few months later. 

When asked to comment on the "selectors" and their role, the JUI-F chief said, "Whether they stand with them or not, the movement is against this entire system and rigging," he said, warning those who had rigged the elections to "think about their fate". 

Opposition seeking confrontation: PM Imran Khan

Earlier, reacting to the PDM's movement, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that even if the Opposition holds 10 public meetings at the Minar-e-Pakistan, it would make no difference to his government.

Read more: PM chairs meeting to discuss key national issues

PM Imran, while chairing a meeting of the government and the party spokespersons, had made it clear that the Opposition did not know him.

The meeting reviewed in detail the key national issues with a particular focus on the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s politics of agitation.

The prime minister told tparticipants that the Opposition was seeking a confrontation but assured them that the government would not give them a chance nor would it stop their rallies. However, he had informed them that legal action would be taken against those providing services to the rallies.