‘May be viewed as NRO’: PM didn’t invite Shahbaz to banquet for MBS

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided not to invite leader of the opposition and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif to the dinner being hosted by him in the honour of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman today (Sunday) fearing that his invitation may be viewed as an “NRO” (amnesty), his spokesman Nadim Afzal Chan said.

However, he told The News that President Dr Arif Alvi is likely to invite Shahbaz Sharif to the lunch being hosted by him for the crown prince tomorrow (Monday). He said it would be the decision of the president, who doesn’t take dictation from the government.

The prime minister will not invite Shahbaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and any leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) or other opposition party. However, the president may invite prominent opposition leaders to the lunch.

In a tweet, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said how the opposition leaders be invited to the dinner (hosted by Imran Khan in the Saudi crown prince’s honour); the central opposition leaders are either on bail or in jail or under investigations in corruption cases. The rest of them do not have such stature (meriting invitations); and it doesn’t matter whether they are invited or not, he posted and also wrote that not having serious opposition is a political crisis and in the time ahead new leadership may emerge.

Imran Khan and other lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had boycotted an address of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the joint session of Parliament on November 18, 2016. At the time, the PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said the party decided it would not attend the joint session held under a “controversial” prime minister who was facing charges of corruption. “The PTI considers Turkey a sincere friend of Pakistan and a brother Islamic state and has great respect for the Turkish president,” he had stated.

However, he said the PTI had a clear perspective on the Panama case, which was being heard by the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

“We decided to boycott the joint session because of the prime minister and not Erdogan, and the PTI would continue to stay away from the Parliament until the apex court announce its decision in the Panama Papers case,” he had said.

Never had any government and opposition maintained excellent relations and they had mostly been bitter against each other, but still they had been setting aside their gross differences on such occasions to give a message that they stand together on having ties with friendly countries like Saudi Arabia.

Domestic politics has become a big roadblock in the way of issuance invitations to the opposition leaders by Prime Minister Imran Khan.