Country at a crossroads where it has become impossible to move forward, says opposition
Mahnoor Ansar
ISLAMABAD: With a focus on the supremacy of the Constitution, the opposition’s two-day Grand Alliance Conference commenced in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The development comes after opposition leaders announced going ahead with the event following an emergency huddle at Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s residence.
The meeting was attended by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Awam Pakistan’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s (MWM) Nasir Shirazi and others.
“We will hold these illegitimate rulers accountable in every street. We do not accept this illegitimate assembly,” said Achakzai while expressing a lack of trust in the legislature.
The convergence of opposition parties comes against the backdrop of now-stalled negotiations between the PTI and the ruling coalition which failed to produce much results despite multiple rounds of talks.
The Imran Khan-founded party, since then, has engaged in a contact drive — initiated in light of ex-PM’s directives — with the TTAP leaders also visiting Sindh to meet the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) with the two sides agreeing to work together for the supremacy of the Constitution and independence of the judiciary and parliament in the country.
The two sides also agreed to form committees as the next step in working together to achieve a common agenda.
The statement issued by the opposition huddle accentuates the existence of severe crises resulting in a quagmire of instability.
“The history of Pakistan is witness that the country has been suffering from severe crises over time. Initially, we tried to lay the foundation of a developing, prosperous and democratic state, but conspiracies, interference of undemocratic forces, weak political system, corruption and institutional conflicts have pushed the country into a quagmire of instability,” read the statement.
