M RAFIQUE GORAYA

LAHORE: The opposition parties’ national consultative meeting held here on Sunday under the auspices of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek(PAT) reached the consensus that a joint action committee be formed to look into the Panama Leaks related corruption, the state of terrorism, injustice, law and order and basic human rights. The committee will decide on the upcoming course of action and struggle after mutual consultation.

The meeting was attended by PPP general secretary Sardar Latif Khosa and Manzoor Wattoo, PTI opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmood Rashid, Sardar Murad and Mian Aslam Iqbal, from PML-Q Senator Kamil Ali Agha, Tariq Bashir Cheema MNA Raja Basharat, and Ch Zaheeruddin, from Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Sajid Anwar, Maulana Muhammad Ghias, Sahibzada Hamid Raza of Sunni Ittehad Council, Sahibazada Abul Khair Zubair of JUP Noorani group, Munir Ahmad, Qari Iftikhar , Ali Abbas from MQM, Nasir Sherazi, Assad Abbas Naqvi, Syed Ahmad Rizvi from Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslameen, Sh Rashid President Awami Muslim League, J Salik of Awami Maseehee Party. Pir syed Masoom Hussain Naqvi of JUP Niazi group, Gulzar Muhammad Soomro of Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party, Raza Haroon, Usman Rathore from Pak Sarzameen Party and delegations of ANP and APML.

The PAT Chairman Allama Tahirul Qadri announced to start the countrywide agitation against the government from 6th August. In the first phase, protest meetings will be held in Karachi, Lahore Chiniot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Islamabad on 6th August.

In the second phase, protest meetings will be held in Karachi, Lahore D.G. Khan, Sialkot, Larkana, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad on 16th August. On 20th August, protest rallies will be held in Hyderabad, Okara, Bahawalpur, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh and on 27th August protest march will be held in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Abbotabad, Bhakare, Faisalabad, and Gujrat.

Leaders of the participating opposition parties expressed solidarity with PAT leaders. PPP Secretary General Sardar Latif Khosa expressing support for the PAT agitation said perpetrators of the Model Town tragedy must be punished. He said if looted money by Sharif brothers was brought back to the country, it would help bring down poverty in the country.

The National Consultative meeting condemned Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir , demanded implementation of UN Resolution about plebiscite in Kashmir, implementation of National Action Plan in letter and in spirit, end of load-shedding, inflation, unemployment, removal of reservation of CPEC, and end of exploitation of farmers.

The participants paid tribute to the armed forces for success of the Zarb-e-Azb.