Pakistan opposition alliance gives govt until Jan 31 to resign

The Pakistan Democratic Movement has given the government until January 31 to dissolve the assemblies. It has warned of a march on Islamabad in case the government doesn't quit by then.

"The government must resign by January 31," PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman said at a press briefing in Lahore. He was flanked by PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

"If it (the government) doesn't resign then a [PDM] leaders' meeting on February 1 would announce its long march to Islamabad," Fazl said.

He said that lawmakers affiliated with the opposition alliance would hand their resignations to their respective party leaders by December 31.

The PDM president appealed to the workers of opposition parties to start preparing for the march beforehand.

The PDM, an alliance of 11 opposition parties, was formed in September this year to overthrow Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

It has since held several rallies in major Pakistani cities, including Gujranwala, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and Lahore.

Besides the march on Islamabad, the alliance has threatened resignations en masse from the legislative assemblies.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, however, appears to be unmoved by the opposition’s threat.

The government will hold by-elections if opposition members resign from the assemblies, he says.

Maryam asks news channels to stop doing 'propaganda'

Maryam rebutted media reports about her lashing out at party members for failing to put on an impressive show at the PDM's Lahore rally on Sunday.

"Something that doesn't even exist, a few channels ran that fake thing," she said. "I am not naming those channels for now, I am giving them time to stop doing this kind of propaganda."

Maryam said she hailed the PML-N Lahore leadership on record for their efforts for a successful rally in the city.

The PML-N leader, however, admitted that she did complain that the venue of Lahore rally was not spacious enough to accommodate everyone.

"People had to stand on the bridge outside and listen to the address, while roads had been jammed," she said. "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sahib arrived an hour late because he could not find a way to reach the venue."

Maryam said she had not witnessed such passionate crowd in her lifetime.

Time for dialogue is over, says Bilawal

Bilawal said that all PDM parties were united and they would make collective decisions.

"The time for a dialogue is over," he said. "Now is the time to march and take Imran’s resignation."