Shehbaz Sharif to attend PDM meeting for first time tomorrow: sources

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif will attend a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for the first time on Saturday (tomorrow), ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

According to sources within PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif has left for Islamabad from Lahore to meet Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and head of the PDM Maulana Fazlur Rehman today at the latter’s residence.

“Fazlur Rehman invited Shehbaz Sharif to a reception,” they said adding that the PML-N president will also attend a meeting of the PDM tomorrow as it will be for the first time that he would be attending a meeting of the opposition alliance.

A PDM meeting before Eid was postponed at the request of Shehbaz Sharif.

Shehbaz Sharif had earlier met Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as efforts to revive Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) platform has proved fruitful.

According to an inside story into the meeting, the PML-N president had conveyed to the JUI-F chief regarding PPP and ANP’s return to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) fold after back door contacts with the parties prove a success.

Both the leaders had agreed that the opposition should stand united ahead of the budget session as differences have weakened their struggle. They also mulled over a strategy for opposition relating to budget and mass public contact movement afterward.

On the other hand, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had announced that the People’s Party and the Awami National Party (ANP) will not be invited to the PDM session. “The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership is not mature enough to follow the protocols used to be followed by the politicians,” he said.

“The JUI will present its proposals in the May 29 PDM session and a joint line of action will be decided in consultation with other parties,” Fazl said.