'Accepting govt after ouster of Imran Khan was political mistake': Pakistan Democratic Movement chief tells PM Sharif

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 11 : Pakistan's political party, Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday and asked him to accept Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Zardari's suggestion to accept the reins of government after the ouster of the last regime was a political mistake, Dawn reported.

The PDM Chief stressed the need for the dissolution of assemblies and the holding of general elections on time.

The meeting came a day after, Rehman, who is also the chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party reportedly expressed his displeasure over the meetings recently held between the PPP and PML-N leadership in Dubai. According to some media reports, Maulana was not invited to those meetings as he was opposed to delaying the elections.

Speaking to reporters, Rehman said questions were being raised within the alliance regarding the "scheduled" meeting between the two major government allies, as per a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

"PML-N is a part of PDM. How is it possible if it was not a scheduled huddle," he wondered, asking, "Why the PDM was not taken into confidence regarding the huddle with the PPP, which was not part of the alliance?"

However, JUI-F spokesman Mohammad Aslam Ghauri denied his party chief had expressed any concerns or dislike over the Dubai huddles, claiming the media had distorted Maulana's off-record conversation with journalists.

During the meeting, the Maulana told the PM that time would tell as to which powers were behind the no-confidence motion against the PTI government, reported Dawn.

"We want elections in time, and delaying it would mean a political loss for us," the Maulana said, adding, "just like taking the government has proven to be a political loss for us".

He said the position about elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the same.

The PDM Chief expressed concerns that some cabinet members belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-N had talked about election delays on the electronic media.

According to an official statement issued by the PM Secretariat, Rehman called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold consultations over the current political situation of the country.

The prime minister appreciated the role of coalition partners in the government and said that without their cooperation, taking the country out of its economic woes and reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund would not have been possible, according to Dawn.