ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Wednesday the party’s parliamentary group would play its role in seeking a rollback of the emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Gohar said PTI’s joint parliamentary party, which met a day earlier, had strongly condemned the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule and discussed the political vacuum created in their wake.
“The parliamentary party will play an active role in filling this vacuum,” he said, adding that it would also work towards having the emergency and governor’s rule rolled back.
Gohar said the joint parliamentary party meeting lasted eight hours and was attended by around 70 members of the National Assembly and Senate.
He said the participants unanimously expressed confidence in the party leadership and appreciated its role, while also praising the role of dysfunctional KP chief minister Sohail Afridi.
The parliamentary party also expressed confidence in both opposition leaders, Gohar said.
He added that recommendations formulated by the parliamentary party had been sent to opposition leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and would be finalised after their approval.
‘28th Amendment not discussed’
Addressing speculation surrounding the 28th Constitutional Amendment, the PTI chairman said the matter was neither on the meeting’s agenda nor discussed during the eight-hour session.
“No decision or proposal regarding the 28th Amendment came before the meeting,” he said, adding that PTI’s position on the matter was already clear.
Gohar called for avoiding “controversial legislation”, warning that rushing legislation could create further crises.
On the question of creating new provinces, he said provinces should not be divided without the consent of the people and that any decision to create new provinces should reflect public will.
He stressed that national consensus was necessary on matters concerning the provinces.
Opposition leaders discuss political situation
Separately, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, accompanied by a delegation, met Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, according to a spokesperson for the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan.
The two sides discussed the political situation, constitutional and democratic matters and cooperation among opposition parties.
Participants condemned the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing the measures as contrary to the sovereignty of the people and democratic principles.
They also expressed concern over the arrests of the chief minister, provincial assembly speaker and members of the National Assembly, and called for the immediate release of political prisoners and protection of political freedoms.
The meeting also included consultations over holding an all-parties conference, while participants backed Fazl’s call for a new Charter of Democracy and urged political parties to move towards such an agreement to overcome the country’s crises.
The PTI delegation comprised Barrister Gohar, Asad Qaiser, Barrister Ali Zafar, Aamir Dogar and Zain Qureshi, while the JUI-F delegation included Senator Kamran Murtaza, Mir Younus Zehri and Usman Badini.
‘PPP played highly undemocratic role’
TTAP Vice Chairman Nasir Abbas has criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party’s role in the imposition of governor’s rule in the KP.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath”, he said: “The PPP played a highly undemocratic role in governor’s rule.” The Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led party had backed the federal government unnecessarily in imposing the emergency and governor’s rule in the province.
He also accused the PPP of undermining the public mandate, saying that after Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, the mandate in KP had also been stolen.
The Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief also expressed disappointment over what he described as irresponsible statements by some PTI leaders and stressed the need for unity within the joint opposition.
“The people gave us a mandate, but it was snatched away, and you could not protect it,” he added.
The opposition leader stressed the need for national dialogue to steer the country out of the ongoing political crisis.
Defending Opposition Leader Achakzai, Abbas said the latter had sacrificed his friendships for the sake of PTI founder. He added that Achakzai had not approached Imran to become opposition leader.
Abbas said no one could make decisions about the party without meeting Imran, adding that decision on creation of new provinces could not be made by anyone other than the PTI founder.
“I try not to say anything that brings internal differences to the surface,” he said.
Abbas also called for the release of all political prisoners, including Imran, saying that frameworks such as a charter of democracy could help achieve the objective. –Agencies
