ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Monday announced to hold an “anti-inflation march” in Islamabad on March 23 — Pakistan Day — in light of the “government’s failures” on several fronts.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad after a meeting of the heads of the PDM’s component parties, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the people from across the country will gather in Islamabad to protest against the “rising inflation and government’s failures”.
Rehman stated that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was brought into power as a result of rigging in the 2018 general elections, because of which it was facing failure on several fronts. He said PDM meetings will be held at a provincial level to prepare a strategy for the march.
According to Maulana Fazl, he will chair a meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan’s (JUP) Awais Noorani will chair separate ones in Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh, respectively.
“A seminar will also be held. But before that, I will meet the lawyers’ committee — Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council — and hold consultations,” the PDM chief announced.
Rehman said that the issue of submitting resignations from parliament was also discussed during the meeting, adding that there was consensus on the topic. “But we will decide when and where to use this,” he said.
“Frist see what happens on March 23 and then wait and watch,” he said when asked whether the march would be held for a day or would it continue over a prolonged period.
To a reporter’s question on boycotting from the assemblies’ sessions and seeking PPP and ANP’s help, Fazl said matters which are highlighted in the media might not necessarily be discussed in PDM’s meetings.
All the meeting’s participants condemned the Sialkot incident, noting that no card allows anyone to resort to violence and take the law into their hands. “Such incidents should be curbed, and it cannot be appreciated in any manner,” he added.
