Fazl initiates attempts to bridge gap between PPP, PDM: sources

• PML-N leaders agree on PPP's return following intervention of Shahbaz Sharif.
• Shahbaz Sharif believes return of PPP and ANP would strengthen PDM, say sources.
• PPP ready to reconsider Yousuf Raza Gillani's position as the Leader of the Opposition in Senate, say sources.

Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has started making attempts to bridge the gap between PPP and the anti-government alliance, sources said Wednesday.

On April 12, the PPP had announced that the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) had called upon its members to resign from all positions of the PDM.

Similarly, leaders of the ANP had withdrawn from the alliance after show-cause notices were issued to the party to explain their actions during the recently held Senate polls.

Sources said Fazl has claimed PPP was ready to reconsider Yousuf Raza Gillani's position as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate — one of the main reasons that led to a divide in the alliance.

PML-N leaders, who did not openly oppose, had agreed on the return of PPP to the PDM following the intervention of party president Shahbaz Sharif, sources said.

Shahbaz Sharif, according to sources, believes the return of PPP and ANP would strengthen the anti-government alliance.

Meanwhile, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Akhtar Mengal have agreed on PPP's return, while Owais Noorani and Prof Sajid Mir have expressed their reservations.

PDM postpones meeting

Earlier, the PDM had announced it had decided to postpone its April 29 leaders' meeting and would convene the next session after Eid.

PDM's chief Fazl has requested the central leaders of PML-N and PPP to "exercise restraint."

He said the PDM plans to "intensify its anti-government struggle after Ramadan," adding the alliance will return to the field with "better strength than before."

"If a few elements decide to [deviate], it would not make any difference to the alliance," Fazl said.

The PDM had another meeting on April 26, without the participation of PPP and ANP, during which Fazl urged the two estranged parties to reconsider their decisions to resign from all posts of the alliance.