ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did not invite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to the meeting of top parliamentary leaders he chaired on Wednesday to save it from any embarrassment over its actions and outbursts during the sit-in. “Invitations were given only to the parties that supported the Parliament, stood for the supremacy of the Constitution and rejected the ‘disruptive container politics’, when they were attacked line, hook and sinker last year by the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) as part of a conspiracy,” a senior source, who attended the deliberations, told The News. PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was right when he said that his party was not invited to the meeting of the parliamentary representatives.The source said that fireworks were bound to grip the session with the PTI coming under severe attack if it had been invited to the consultations. “The prime minister did not want that the PTI should be subjected to any onslaught in the deliberations for its own doings,” he said and added that most participants were extremely angry with the PTI and were poised to vent out their ire. According to the source, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the two co-sponsors of the resolution moved in the National Assembly seeking unseating of the PTI lawmakers, were adamant to go ahead with their motion. He said the prime minister also told them that there were also two opinions in his own party with one taking a hard-line to oust the PTI from the assemblies for remaining absent beyond the permissible time. “But for the sake of the system, I want the PTI to remain part of the Parliament,” the premier said. “It is prudent to move ahead instead of remaining embroiled in the past and petty issues.” The source said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman stated that he was ready to ignore his resolution if the PTI lawmakers declare on the floor of the National Assembly that they had not tendered resignations. “This is the minimum what we demand of them. At least, they should repent and express remorse over the naked abuses hurled over the Parliament,” the JUI chief was quoted as saying in the meeting. The MQM representatives expressed the view that the PTI MPs should be expelled as required under the law, and claimed that all of them would have their security deposits confiscated if they dared to fight the by-elections. The source said that both the MQM and JUI-F were agonised over the highly disparaging ceaseless attacks of Imran Khan on them for months. “They wanted to know any clause of the Constitution or law that allows lawmakers to remain members even after absenting from the Parliament for more than 40 days.” However, the tough stands of the two parties apart, there are indications from official sources that they will finally agree to withdraw their resolution in order to evade any controversy. However, till the last they will try to rub salt into the wounds of the PTI to avenge their insult.
