New tradition: PTI to boycott Erdogan’s joint sitting address

Qureshi says PTI to present its viewpoint before Turkish envoy and

to seek meeting with President Erdogan

ISLAMABAD: Vice Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday his party legislators will boycott the upcoming joint sitting of parliament, as they could not attend the legislature in the presence of, what he called, a controversial prime minister.

The session is being summoned especially for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will deliver a speech. He is due next week.

“We can’t attend the joint session in the presence of a controversial prime minister. However, we are keen on playing our role in further cementing the Pakistan-Turkey relations,” Qureshi maintained.

He said the PTI would present its viewpoint before the Turkish ambassador to Pakistan and would also like to seek a meeting with President Erdogan.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan chaired a high-level party meeting here at his residence, where the government’s alleged bid to hush up the issue of Newsleak through a ‘pocket commission’ was vehemently condemned.

The meeting contended that instead of ordering the closure and opening of shops, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan should try to remain loyal to Pakistan.

“Whatever attack will be on Pakistan’s security, we shall not spare those behind it,” the meeting resolved.

The forum pledged to take the issues of PanamaLeaks and Newsleak to its logical conclusion and noted that it had become crystal-clear to the nation that the ‘benefits’ of corruption were pocketed by Nawaz Sharif.

Imran said they had submitted a pile of evidence of Sharifs’ corruption to the Supreme Court and more would be filed next week.

Imran alleged that both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were running from pillar to post, fearing conviction over their corruption.

“Once Sharifs file replies, we shall expose their lies further,” he asserted.

The PTI leadership contended that in order to save themselves from accountability, the Sharifs had secretly established their business empire after looting the national wealth.

Reacting to the terrorist attack on the mausoleum of Saint Shah Noorani, Qureshi said despite implementation of the National Action Plan, terrorists were carrying out massacre of innocent people without discrimination, which was a matter of grave concern.

He strongly condemned the gory strike and said those behind it did not even deserve to be called human beings.