PDM chief Fazl asks all workers to reach Islamabad by March 25

"Caravans — coming from across Pakistan — should refrain from entering Islamabad on March 23," Fazl says

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Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addresses a press conference in Islamabad, on March 15, 2022. — Screengrab via Geo News
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addresses a press conference in Islamabad, on March 15, 2022. — Screengrab via GeoNews

  • Fazl asks caravans to refrain from entering Islamabad on March 23.
  • Says OIC foreign ministers are guests who should be respected.
  • Says "the picture will become clearer by tomorrow".


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Tuesday asked all the workers — from the Opposition parties — to reach the Federal Capital on the evening of March 25.

"The OIC's (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) foreign ministers are our guests and it is our duty to respect them as they will remain in Islamabad till March 24," Fazl said while addressing a press conference after a meeting of the Opposition parties.

A day earlier, the PDM chief had asked the entire nation to "march" towards Islamabad on Pakistan Day — March 23 — as he sought to hold a massive anti-government rally.

Read more: All PTI allies '100% inclined' towards Opposition, PML-Q's Pervaiz Elahi says

But today, the PDM chief noted that the Opposition did not "wish" for problems to arise for the OIC foreign ministers during their stay in Pakistan.

"The rallies — coming from across Pakistan — should refrain from entering Islamabad on March 23," Fazl said, whose announcement a day earlier had drawn the government's ire.

In response to a question about Speaker Punjab Assembly Pervaiz Elahi's statement, Fazl said the allies will soon part ways with the government. "The picture will become clearer by tomorrow."

Read more: BAP breaks alliance with PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

With the no-confidence motion submitted against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pervaiz Elahi, speaking to Hum News, has said that all the PTI allies are "100% inclined" towards the Opposition.

"It is Khan Sahab's duty to reverse the tilt. But I believe the time to send delegations [for assuring support] has passed. Had he done this earlier, this could have been avoided," the speaker, whose party is an ally of the PTI in the Centre and Punjab, said.

The speaker termed the alliance of the three Opposition major parties — JUI-F, PML-N, and PPP — as lasting and stable, just weeks before a session to vote on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan is called.

Read more: If three of PTI's allies join Opposition, party will lose 17 MNAs

The government's key ally in the Centre, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Monday assured PM Imran Khan of complete support ahead of the no-trust motion, while other allies — BAP, MQM-P, and PML-Q — are still indecisive.

Hours before Fazl's press conference, BAP Parliamentary Leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Bilawal Afridi had announced breaking his party's alliance with PTI in the provincial assembly.

"We (BAP) will not support the government in the no-confidence motion," Afridi warned PTI, which has a clear majority of 94 in the 145-member provincial assembly.

In a video statement, he further announced that the party would also end its alliance with the PTI in Balochistan, the National Assembly, and the Senate, as the clock ticks on the session for the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.