The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday urged Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to extend cooperation in the presidential elections.
Islamabad: According to the details, the PPP delegation held a meeting with Rehman. Prominent among those who were part of the PPP delegation were Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Khursheed Shah, and Naveed Qamar.
Meanwhile, the PkMAP delegation had also called on Rehman. The JUI-F chief had welcomed the PkMAP delegation.
Prominent among those who attending the meeting were Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Senator Shafiq Tareen.
– Respect politicians despite differences –
JUI-F supremo Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that he respects the politicians despite the differences.
Addressing the lawyers’ convention in Lahore, Rehman said: “There is a dire need to underscore the importance of the state. Sadly, the constitution of the country is not secure.”
He pointed out the sacrifices made by his party, saying, “We have given many great sacrifices for the sake of democracy.”
“I would like to ask from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) why the 2018 general elections were rigged but not the recently held elections,” Rehman said.
Rehman said: “The JUI-F has the narrative in terms of rigging that the rigging was held in both 2018 and 2024.”
“It is our upbringing that stops us from accepting the rigged elections,” he added.
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The Pakistan People’s Party is a centre-left political party in Pakistan. It is currently the second-largest party in the Senate. The party was founded in 1967 in Lahore, when a number of prominent left-wing politicians in the country joined hands against the military rule of president Muhammad Ayub Khan, under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It is affiliated with the Socialist International. The PPP’s platform was formerly socialist, and its stated priorities continue to include transforming Pakistan into a social-democratic state, promoting egalitarian values, establishing social justice, and maintaining a strong military. The party, alongside the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, is one of the three largest political parties of Pakistan.
Since its foundation in 1967, It has been a major centre-left force in the country and the party’s leadership has been dominated by the members of the Bhutto family.[18] Its centre of power lies in the southern province of Sindh. The People’s Party has been voted into power on five separate occasions (1970, 1977, 1988, 1993 and 2008), while on four occasions (1990, 1997, 2002 and 2013) it emerged as the largest opposition party. There have been a total of four prime ministers from the PPP.
The PPP dominated the politics of Pakistan during the 1970s, suffering a temporary decline during the military dictatorship of president Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. After the re-establishment of democracy in 1988 following Zia’s death, a two-party system developed, consisting of the People’s Party and the Islamic Democratic Alliance, later succeeded by the Nawaz League. The party served as the principal opposition to the Gen. Pervez Musharraf-led military government from 1999 to 2008.
The party conceded defeat during the 2013 general election, losing swathes of support in the Punjab Province where most of its base was lost to the emerging PTI, although it retained its provincial government in Sindh. In the 2018 general election, for the first time in history, the party was able to neither form the government nor emerge as the largest party in opposition.
