It seems the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is in two minds about staying in the Pakistan Democratic Movement because the party is allegedly responsible for holding the anti-government movement back over its key demands, claims senior journalist Saleem Safi.
Speaking in Geo TV’s Shahzeb Khanzada show, Safi said the PPP was “creating problems” for the PDM by not agreeing to mass resignations and the long march towards Islamabad. Instead, it wanted to hold small rallies in different cities of Pakistan to “buy more time”, he claimed.
He said that both Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) believe that the PPP was in contact with the powers-that-be to reach a deal. “Both parties are not reacting to this development because of the alliance, but the PPP has been told that if it wants to gain results via backdoor talks, it can go ahead,” he claimed, adding that PML-N and JUI-F are not happy with the PPP.
According to Safi, the PPP was at the forefront when the PDM was formed, but the party has been gradually moving away from the 11-party alliance. He said the statement by PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari –in response to PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif taking names of the army chief and intelligence chief in a jalsa — wherein he expressed shock was a part of a well-thought strategy. “Bilawal gave this statement to appease the establishment and distance the PPP from the PML-N,” he claimed.
The senior journalist further claimed that the opposition parties wanted to resign in December and hold a sit-in in Islamabad, but this idea, too, was opposed by the PPP.
He said the PPP’s decision to participate in the by-polls has also damaged the cause of the PDM and the Election Commission of Pakistan decided to hold bypolls on the vacant seats following the insistence of the PPP.
Safi further said that the PDM leadership knows that if the PPP ditches the PDM after signing the resignation letters then the party will be reduced to just one province, Sindh.
“Maulana Fazl thinks that PPP will not give up its status as a national party to save its skin and will remain a part of the PDM,” he added.
