JUI-F chief named 1st Prez of Pak oppn alliance

islamabad, Oct 4 Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-Fazl) party, has been named the first President of the oppositions Pakistan Dem­ocratic Movement (PDM), after his unanimous nomination by the heads of all the constituent parties.

He was named PDM President after the opposition alliance's first formal meeting through video link on Saturday, reports Dawn news.

According to PDM's steering committee convener Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan Mus­lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif proposed Maulana's nameand it was endorsed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and others.

Sources told Dawn news that Sharif had initially proposed that Maulana Fazl should be appointed as the president on a permanent basis, but the idea was opp­osed by Bhutto-Zardari and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Amir Haider Hoti, who suggested that the office should be given on a rotational basis to leaders of the constituent parties.

The sources said there was an agreement among the leaders that the Mau­lana should lead the PDM in the first phase as he had already led last year's 'Azadi March' against the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

"Since the Maulana has already done a rehearsal and his party is more disciplined and has the ability to effectively mobilise the masses, therefore, in the first and decisive phase, he is the best choice," Dawn news quoted a participant of Saturday's meeting as saying.

Maulana's nomination to lead the movement came only a week before the formal launch of the anti-government campaign by the opposition parties with PDM's first public meeting scheduled for October 11 in Quetta.

The final decision about the term of these offices and nominations on other posts, including inf­o­r­mation secretary, will be made in a meeting of the steering committee to be held on Monday.

( With inputs from IANS )

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