Following the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)’s congregation at the PPP’s commemorative event for the Benazir Bhutto, government ministers have once again turned their guns towards the opposition alliance.
The PDM has threatened to resign from legislative assemblies and march towards Islamabad if Prime Minister Imran Khan still refuses to resign and call mid-term elections.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister (SACM) of Punjab on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan has said clashes between the fake prince, princes [referring to Bilawal and Maryam respectively] the Maulana [Fazl-ur-Rehman] will cause the PDM to split up. The comment came while the SACM claimed that the issue of resignations has caused a split between the opposition parties that is irreconcilable.
Fawad Chaudhry, the federal Minister for Science and Technology, on Sunday said the PDM is falling apart as the PPP has distanced itself from the narrative of Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The minister further added the population of Punjab will reject the opposition alliance that is a band of anti-Punjab parties.
Minister for Information Shibli Faraz commented after the Garhi Khuda Baksh rally that Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto change their politics out of convenience and the public would reject these parties. He said that everyone is aware of the language which Nawaz Sharif used for Benazir Bhutto in past, and now the PML-N is attending the event commemorating the former PPP leader. “By bashing state institutions, opposition leaders have proved that they can go to any extent to save their looted wealth, but they cannot blackmail Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said. “They are free to stage long march towards Islamabad, but they will fail,” the minister said.
After every PDM event, a platoon of government ministers occupy TV screens and repeat the same predictions of the PDM breaking up. But the public response to the PDM is showing the growing popularity of the opposition alliance, Maryam Nawaz’s popularity is spreading not only in areas with a tradition PLM-N support such as Punjab but her rallies and meeting in Mardan and Larrkana also saw a huge attendance. In such circumstances, the government’s strategy of press conferences against the opposition seems to be failing. It seems like after enjoying a monopoly over political narratives for 3 years, the ruling party is stuck in a cycle where none of their narrative against the PDM is gaining popularity in the public.
