PTI and allies signal support for Fazl's new Charter of Democracy

Opposition parties moved on Wednesday towards a joint platform against the government, with the PTI and its allies signalling support for JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman's proposal for a new Charter of Democracy and an all-parties conference pencilled in for November 9 or 10.

The move followed Fazl's speech in the National Assembly, in which he invited the government and opposition to "sit at one table and establish a new Charter of Democracy" and warned that falling political tolerance and worsening law and order were pushing the country towards further instability.

"If you want to humiliate us at all costs, we would rather die at the hands of the government than at the hands of history," Fazl said, according to The Express Tribune. He said the country belonged to all its citizens and not to any military officer or general. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told the assembly he would let Fazl continue but would expunge unparliamentary remarks, and a sentence was later removed from the speech, the Express Tribune reported.

Fazl recounted that PTI leaders had approached him for help when the party's long march was heading to Islamabad. He said he held detailed talks with government representatives including the prime minister's adviser Rana Sanaullah, and was then invited to dinner by the prime minister's office, where he was asked to have the march called off. He said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar telephoned him at about 10:30pm to say the cabinet would not agree to the proposed course. He alleged the Constitution had been misused and power transferred by force, and accused the government of disregarding Article 2A.

He questioned the government's handling of law and order, asking whether conditions in Balochistan were any better and referring to reports that the son of the Khan of Kalat had been kidnapped. He also criticised Defence Minister Khawaja Asif over talks linked to the Makkah pact said to have been held in Tehran while the prime minister and the defence minister were in Pakistan.

Business Recorder reported that Fazl then met the PTI-backed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who was accompanied by a delegation, in the opposition leader's chamber. The meeting discussed the political situation, constitutional and democratic questions, coordination among opposition parties and the proposed conference. Participants agreed that all parties should engage in dialogue and described the conference as an important first step.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser said his party had agreed to Fazl's proposal and that the government had failed on economic, administrative and governance fronts, adding that a final decision on the charter would come after consultations. Senator Barrister Ali Zafar said its terms would be finalised through mutual consultation with all stakeholders on board.

The leaders also telephoned Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the PTI-backed opposition leader in the National Assembly. A PTI parliamentary panel of MNAs discussed the proposal and, according to sources, agreed to support it. Participants condemned the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as contrary to the sovereignty of the people, and voiced concern over the whereabouts of the non-functional KP chief minister Sohail Afridi, PTI KP president Junaid Akbar, provincial assembly speaker Babar Swati and other leaders and workers missing since October 11. They called for the release of political prisoners.

The PTI delegation included chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, Barrister Ali Zafar, Chief Whip Aamir Dogar and Zain Qureshi; the JUI-F side included Kamran Murtaza, Mir Younus Zahri and Usman Badini. The Express Tribune reported that a joint meeting of the PTI parliamentary party ran for about eight hours on Tuesday with nearly 70 MNAs and senators present, expressing unanimous confidence in the party leadership.