PDM decides to join hands with PPP for long march: sources

• PML-N will welcome the convoys in Punjab while JUI-F will do so in K-P, sources say. 
• Zardari, Fazl agree to take estranged PTI leaders into confidence, per sources. 
• According to sources, opposition leaders will deliver their speeches while standing on top of containers, adding that no stage will be set up in any city during march.

ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing political situation in the country, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), has decided to join hands with the PPP to support the party's long march towards Islamabad against the PTI-led government, sources privy to the matter told Geo News. 

PDM — the alliance of eight opposition parties — of which Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are the major ones, have decided to welcome the convoys of the long march.

PML-N will welcome the convoys in Punjab while the JUI-F will do so in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sources added.

The development comes a day after a meeting took place between JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari. During the meeting, different options were discussed for the success of the no-trust move against the prime minister, while the two leaders had also agreed to take estranged PTI leaders into confidence, sources had said.

It has been decided that the activists of component parties of the PDM will welcome the participants of the long march in each city across the country. The opposition leaders will deliver their speeches while standing on top of containers, sources said, adding that no stage will be set up in any city during the march.

Upon arrival in Islamabad, there will be a mass public meeting during which the date for the no-trust motion is likely to be announced.

Neither the long march will enter the Red Zone nor the PPP will stage a sit-in in Islamabad, sources said.

Zardari, Fazl united against PTI government 

Zardari and Fazl on Monday appeared to be on the same page regarding bringing a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Both leaders, in a meeting at Fazl’s Islamabad residence, had agreed on jointly formulating a political roadmap against the PTI-led government. Besides the no-trust move and various options to make it a success, they had also discussed the political situation in the country.

The meeting continued for about two hours, including one-on-one talks for half an hour. It was the first meeting between Zardari and Fazl after the PPP's departure from the PDM. Both avoided any interaction with the media after the meeting; however, the JUI-F had issued a joint statement after the meeting.

Sources said that Zardari had told Maulana Fazl that he should consult with all opposition parties on the issue of a no-confidence motion in order to get the support of the required number of MNAs to dislodge the government.