ISLAMABAD - It was Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI)’ tough resistance that forced the government to ask Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to move the unanimous resolution about Yemen crisis in the joint sitting of the parliament instead of Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif who was supposed to do this.
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) raised the issue during all parliamentary parties meeting held on Friday at the Parliament House on the sidelines of the joint sitting to finalise the draft of the resolution to be moved in the parliament with consensus.
It was PTI who in the meeting resisted that if Defence Minister Khawaja Asif would move the motion in the house, this would endanger the government efforts to get pass a unanimous resolution about Yemen crisis from the house as defence minister had become controversial following his remarks against PTI lawmakers’ return to the parliament.
It was PTI who got included the words of neutrality and sectarian violence in the unanimous resolution as a key government functionary had objection to the inclusion of word of neutrality.
The other parliamentary parties, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) endorsed the stance of PTI and it was suggested that Ishaq Dar should move the resolution instead of defence minister. Finally the government had to bow before the opposition parties so that prevailing consensus could not harm and it was decided that the finance minister would do this duty instead of Khawaja Asif.
Vice Chairman PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Deputy Parliamentary Leader of PTI in National Assembly while talking to The Nation said that PTI rose before the meeting as Khawaja Asif had harmed the overall atmosphere of the specially called joint sitting of the parliament following his remarks against PTI, so he had become controversial. “We asked the meeting that PTI protests over the behaviour of the defence minister and if he moved the resolution in the house, a bad taste would create in the house,” he said, adding that Leader of the Opposition in NA Syed Khursheed Shah and Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-Q endorsed their viewpoint. Then it was decided that finance minister would move the resolution instead of Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif though it was the work of latter by virtue of his official position.
The defence minister had opened the debate in the joint sitting on last Monday by giving the policy statement about Yemen crisis.
Soon after the return of PTI in the parliament on the maiden day of the joint sitting of the parliament, Khawaja Asif in the presence of prime minister had criticized PTI for its decision to return to assemblies after boycott of more than seven months as a protest against election rigging in last general elections. “They (PTI) abused this house... They have been calling this house as fake... then come and sit in the same place...They should have some shame, they should have some grace,” he had said in his remarks in the house.
Meanwhile, Shah Mahmood Qureshi while talking to reporters outside the Parliament House said that PTI had denied to endorse the resolution moved by defence minister and had moved its own resolution in the all parliamentary parties meeting that later was made part of the original resolution. He said that the remarks of defence minister had divided the house. PTI was firm on its stance regarding the allegations of rigging, he said and asked Khawaja Asif to change his behaviour.