The multi-party alliance, formed against the PTI, was no longer needed, Fazlur Rehman said on Sunday. The reaction of Rehman, who heads the Pakistan Democratic Movement, came after Dubai meetings between political bigwigs.

“Why we were kept unaware of the meetings in Dubai,” he told reporters in Peshawar. “These negotiations were not impromptu but after planned.”

Last month, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had meetings in Dubai. Sources said that they met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum in the Gulf country.

The PDM was formed on September 20, 2020, with the aim to oust the PTI government. But the alliance split in April 2021 to form a new bloc. It served notices to PPP and ANP for not attending the alliance meeting on Friday and violating its decision.

The plan started with anti-government protests and culminated with the ouster of the former prime minister through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.

Fazl was of the view that the PML-N should have taken the parties with PDM into confidence and wondered why the N-league did not take such a step.

“PDM was a movement. We did not want to remove the government of PTI chairman. But in order to give support to the opposition we stood with them,” he said, “the PDM was no longer needed.”

Fazl, who is also chairman of his own faction of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, said that they cannot ask the PPP about the talks since it was not part of the alliance. He claimed that the negotiations in Dubai were planned.

Last month, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his concerns over the allocations of funds for the rehabilitation of flood-hit people in the budget. It was the demand of the PPP for the budget, which was later approved. But Bilawal believed it should have been the “thrust” of the budget.

Fazl went on to add that they did not want to take oath as lawmakers after the 2018 elections but they did it on the request of opposition parties. “At this time we have come together for national unity, otherwise our stance remains the same. The army is an institution, with which disagreement is not possible, but there can be disagreement with personalities. We are strongly against the interference of the establishment in the elections.”

He also spoke about general elections and reiterated that they would be held on time. Caretaker governments will be established in the Centre, Sindh and Balochistan in a month, he said and claimed that the economy has started improving. Friendly countries were taking the first step by helping the country; he said and added that the second step would be investment.

He expressed hope that the nation would not vote for the PTI chairman in polls. The PDM head described the former prime minister’s cipher claim as “fake”.

“PTI is not a problem for us. We will have our government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Fazl.