Long march next month, resignations last option, says Shahid Khaqan

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former prime minister and senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said on Wednesday the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would hold its long march against the government next month. 

PDM is an alliance of 11 opposition parties currently trying to topple the federal government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). 

Talking to 24NewsHD TV, Abbasi said that sit-ins, rallies and protest demonstrations would be part of the PDM’s anti-government movement. He said that resigning from the assemblies would be the last option. He said that opposition parties would submit their lawmakers’ resignations to the National Assembly speaker after the long march. 

Abbasi said that stakeholders do not just mediate; they are part of the talks. He said that all stakeholders would have to sit together, hold talks and decide how the country should be run. He said that parliament is the only place where talks should be held, but the parliament has been dysfunctional for the last two years. 

The former prime minister said the rulers should confess that they had failed in running the country. He said he was ready to play a role as a mediator. He said the media should invite the chief justice of Pakistan to host the talks before people come out on the roads.