Opposition to hold another APC on Aug 29 to ponder Islamabad lockdown

ISLAMABAD: The Opposition parties announced late Monday their decision to hold another All Parties Conference (APC) on August 29 to ponder over the federal capital lockdown, Geo News reported.

Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said it was agreed in the APC held earlier today that all Opposition leaders would travel to Islamabad together.

The Opposition's Rahbar Committee, he added, would send a charter of demands in a week so as to have a list on which everyone agreed upon. The JUI-F chief further said there would be a meeting of the Rahbar Committee on August 26 as well.

The Opposition was starting to move against the government starting today, Fazl noted, adding a request to the nation to support them.

"People will come to our lockdown, no one can remove them; our people will not come to enjoy and will bear every challenge."

Earlier in the day, the Opposition parties held an APC to deliberate on the situation in Indian occupied Kashmir and the country's political situation. The meeting was chaired Fazl and attended by top leaders from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Musliim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Opposition leader in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were unable to attend the meeting. However, Bilawal and the JUI-F chief met last night to discuss the agenda of the APC.

Earlier this month, India through a presidential decree revoked Article 370 which granted special status to occupied Kashmir. New Delhi has maintained a curfew in the valley since then with a complete communication blackout.

Last week members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met in over five decades to discuss the critical situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, urging parties to dispute to refrain from taking any unilateral action.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, welcomed the UNSC meeting and said the country was "grateful to China for calling this meeting".

"The voice of the Kashmiri people have been heard today. The fact that this meeting took place is a testimony to the fact that this is an internationally recognised dispute. This meeting has reaffirmed the validity of the UNSC resolutions on the status of Jammu and Kashmir," she said, speaking to reporters after the meeting.

'PPP, PML-N ditched Fazalur Rehman on APC'

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Monday said PPP and PML-N, had once again ditched Maulana Fazalur Rehman.

In a tweet, she said the APC of the opposition, called by Fazalur Rehman, had flopped due to back-pain of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and organisational tour of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

She questioned how the opposition leaders, who do not mutually speak the truth, would speak truth to the people.

Firdous Awan said that there was a difference in agenda of Maulana Fazalur Rehman and these parties which were working on "save looted money agenda".

She asked Maulana Fazalur Rehman to leave PPP and PML-N and raise his voice for the rights of besieged people of Indian occupied Kashmir.

—Additional reporting by Arshad Waheed Chaudhry in Islamabad