ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Opposition alliance has announced the schedule of its second wave of protests to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, starting with a public meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's central city, Mardan, on Wednesday.
The steering committee of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) -- an 11-party Opposition alliance -- met on Monday to decide the future course of the 'struggle' against the government, The News quoted PDM spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain in a report on Tuesday.
The second phase of the movement will start with a public meeting in Mardan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on December 23.
It would be followed by another public meeting in Larkana in Sindh on December 27 on the eve of the death anniversary of Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The PDM steering committee has decided to expand public meetings in smaller cities as well.
The protests will be held in Bahawalpur on December 30, Malakand January 3, Bannu January 6, Khazdar January 9, Loralai January 13, Tharparkar January 16, Faisalabad January 18, Sargodha January 23 and Sialkot on January 27.
The paper also reported that the PDM is still in a quandary on whether to leave the field of Senate elections open for the ruling the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) does not want to leave the field open for the ruling PTI and its allies to get maximum seats in the Upper House of the Parliament in the upcoming polls.
It is expected that the issue of Senate elections will come under discussion in the next meeting of the PDM's leadership, which is scheduled to be held after December 27 or in early January.
Besides discussing the PDM strategy for Senate elections, the PDM, in its meeting, will also decide to take part in the bye-elections which are being held in Sindh on three seats as the PPP is in favour of participating in it as has been already written to the Chief Election Commissioner for holding bye-elections.
According to a notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the bye-elections in Sindh and Balochistan will be held on February 16, while in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 19.
The Opposition alliance had earlier announced that their lawmakers will resign en masse by the end of this month from Parliament to paralyse the government and force Prime Minister Khan to call snap polls.
Though the PPP is following the PDM's decision on resignation, it wants the move to be well calculated instead of one made in haste, the report said.
According to PPP insiders, the party will discuss all the options in the meeting of its Central Executive Committee, which is expected to be held within this week.
The PPP has also a chance of becoming the second largest party in the Senate, the paper added.
The PDM has been formed against the Pakistan Army's interference in politics and installing "puppet" Prime Minister Khan through a manipulated election.