PDM parties to form new bloc in Senate minus PPP, ANP

• PDM will also issue show-cause notices to PPP and ANP for violating its decision and getting support from BAP.
• PPP and ANP were not present at the PDM meeting as they were reportedly not invited.
• PDM agreed to summon a meeting of the PDM heads ahead of Eidul Fitr.

ISLAMABAD: The split in the Opposition alliance is now taking a formal shape as the component parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) decided to form a new bloc in the Senate, excluding PPP and ANP.

The PDM will also issue show-cause notices to PPP and ANP for violating its consensus decision and getting the support of the ruling alliance for the election of their candidate as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

According to a report published in The News, five opposition parties in the Senate have decided to constitute an independent group in the House consisting of 27 members. These parties are PML-N, JUI-F, PkMAP, National Party and BNP (Mengal).

The group will be led by the PML-N designated opposition leader Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar. The Senate Secretariat is being informed formally in this regard next week, sources said.

A meeting of the PDM Steering Committee where the decision of seeking an explanation from the PPP and ANP was held on Friday at the residence of the PDM secretary-general and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The report added that both the parties were not present as they were reportedly not invited.

Other parties attending the meeting were the PML-N, JUI-F, National Party of late Hasil Bizenjo, Balochistan National Party (BNP) of Akhtar Mengal, Jamiat Ahle Hadith of Professor Sajid Mir, JUP of Maulana Noorani, PkMAP of Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Aftab Sherpao’s Qaumi Watan Party (QWP).

Read more: PPP to convene CEC meeting to discuss resignations on April 5

The sources said notices would be issued to PPP and ANP after approval from the PDM President Fazlur Rehman, who is unwell and bedridden. The two parties would be provided with an opportunity to explain the reason for their conduct.

“Both the parties would be shown the door if they fail to come up with a satisfactory explanation,” they said, and added that the leaders of eight parties held extensive consultations before taking the decision.

The Senate dispute

The PDM had decided last month that the PPP will get the slot of chairman Senate while the deputy chairman will go to JUI-F and the PML-N will get the office of the leader of Opposition.

The PPP and JUI-F candidates for the two slots couldn’t succeed in polls, as the presiding officer discarded seven votes of the PPP candidate Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Read more: PPP's Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar says party should not have sought BAP's votes for Gillani

Subsequently, the PPP backed out of consensus understanding and opted to get the slot of the Opposition leader by roping in some members of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) party, which is part of the government.

The ANP stood by the PPP.

What happens next?

The eight-party meeting also decided to keep the PDM intact even after the reply of the two parties facing the discipline charge.

A follow-up meeting will be held later this month.

The PDM meeting also agreed to summon a meeting of the PDM heads ahead of Eidul Fitr.

PPP fires back

In response to the PDM’s decision of serving show-cause notice to the PPP, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf asked the PML-N to resign from the assemblies if it wanted, without waiting for the decision of the PPP CEC.

Raja said he was Senior Vice President of the PDM but he was not invited to the Steering Committee meeting.

“I am Senior Vice President of the PDM but I have not been invited to the meeting,” he said while talking with The News.

He said the PPP still was a part of the PDM and wanted that the alliance should remain intact. “But today eight parties held the meeting without the PPP,” he said.

He said Fazlur Rehman was a seasoned politician and he should not support just one party in the PDM.

“The PPP position has been clear on the issue of resignations from the assemblies from the very first day that this option would be used at an appropriate time after exhausting all the parliamentary tools including the no-confidence motion,” he said.