• Negotiations with JUI-F chief critical to forming opposition alliance.
• Dissenting voices, discord in PTI mar efforts to woo JUI-F chief.
• Imran-founded party continues to struggle with internal rifts.

PESHAWAR: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub on Wednesday said that efforts were ongoing to convince Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to join the grand alliance.

Speaking to Geo News, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader expressed optimism that Fazl would soon become part of the opposition bloc, adding that negotiations with the JUI-F leader were underway to finalise the alliance.

Since the imprisonment of its founder, Imran Khan, the PTI has been struggling on multiple fronts. Its bid to form a grand opposition alliance has faltered, and its strained ties with the establishment have further narrowed its options.

Meanwhile, PTI has expedited efforts to form a grand opposition alliance to launch an anti-government movement after Eid ul Fitr, following the party founder’s directives.

Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan had asked his party leaders to approach every political party to form a grand opposition alliance and launch an anti-government movement after Eid ul Fitr.

A key move in this regard was to unite the opposition against the government, but internal discord and political missteps have stalled progress.

Efforts to bring JUI-F on board have also been undermined by mixed signals from PTI’s own leadership.

Earlier this month, PTI leader Asad Qaiser suggested that talks with the JUI-F were ongoing and that a national agenda would be announced after Fazl’s return from a private overseas visit.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur took a confrontational approach, openly criticising Fazl, which the JUI-F strongly objected to, questioning the PTI’s sincerity in forging alliances.

In April last year, the PTI formed the Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), a multi-party opposition alliance comprising the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM).

After talks between the government and the opposition collapsed in January, the PTI made another push to establish a joint front against the ruling coalition by roping in ex-premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier this month to become part of its movement.

Last month, TTAP leaders also held their two-day conference, which held the “rigged” February 8, 2024, general elections responsible for the ongoing economic, political, and social crises facing the country.

The opposition’s moot called for the abolition of all amendments that contradict the spirit of the Constitution. The conference called the “rampant violation of constitutional and human rights” a complete negation of the rule of law in the country.