In an effort to reunify, leaders of Pakistan’s main opposition party to hold talks
Members of Parliament for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will meet today in Islamabad.
The PDM is an anti-military rule political alliance which seeks to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan and his military backers. It accuses the military of rigging elections to ensure Khan’s victory and controlling civilian government institution.
Today’s talks will likely discuss new opposition strategies, as PDM’s influence in parliament has weakened following a split in April. The PDM was split by internal conflict, dividing in April over strategy disagreements. The coalition formed disparate political parties united only around ousting Khan. Following the split, the opposition’s influence in parliament reduced. Today’s strategy talks are unlikely to improve the PDM’s political position as it now lacks the members to force a no-confidence vote on Khan.
While opposition to Khan remains strong, the divided movement will have little political clout. It is unlikely it will rejoin forces in the short-term due to infighting over rewards in a new government. Expect it to publicly criticize Khan and the military to gain support for regular elections, to little effect. Khan will likely continue appointing military leaders to manage foreign and economic policy, further increasing its political influence in the medium-term.
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