PDM mulling to change date of Pakistan Day protest in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, January 2: The “inflation march” of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is likely to be postponed due to the second phase of local bodies elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), sources reported on Sunday quoting sources.
In December, the PDM, an alliance of opposition parties, had announced staging protest on March 23 against the PTI-led government in Islamabad.
But now sources in the PDM have told Express News that the date of opposition’s long march can be rescheduled due to the local government polls in K-P on March 27. “However, final decision will be taken by the top leadership following their upcoming meeting,” they added.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman while addressing a press conference in Peshawar has confirmed that, saying that the consultation in this regard was under way with the provincial leaders of the opposition alliance.
He said all constituent parties of the PDM were ready to march on Islamabad, however, the final date of the protest will be decided by the PDM leadership in the upcoming meeting.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had urged the PDM to change its date of protest as every year on March 23 military parade is held in the federal capital to mark the Pakistan Day celebrations.
However, the PDM had refused to reschedule the long march date and warned the authorities against using force to bar protesters from entering the federal capital.
Time and again, the PDM announced holding countrywide protests against the ruling PTI but hasn’t yet been able to fully come out of its preparation mode and actually make a dent.
Instead, it lost two of its allies – the PPP and the ANP – along the way a year after its formation and got itself labelled “as dead as a dodo”.
The JUI-F chief said that “movement means continuous struggle”, but avoided giving a final date for the decisive anti-government march and protest that has long been projected as final steps in dislodging the government.
Fazl, who also heads the PDM, further said that the ‘incompetent government’ had ruined the economy of the country, adding that people were finding it difficult to live due to inflation. “Today, people are committing suicide due to inflation, no discussion has been held on mini-budget,” he remarked.
The supplementary finance bill, passed by the National Assembly last week, should have gone to the standing committee, said the JUI-F chief. “Through the bill, the State Bank of Pakistan will be controlled by the IMF,” he added. – TLTP