ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called a joint session of the national parliament tomorrow (Tuesday) to seek support for his government in face of the current political turmoil.
Soon after landing back in the federal capital from his hometown Lahore the prime minister called a high-level meeting of his cabinet colleagues in the PM House to discuss the ongoing skirmishes between police force and protesters of PAT and PTI in Red Zone and its possible political fallout.
Sources informed The Nation that the meeting decided that a joint session of the parliament be called at the earliest to seek strength for the government from other political parties by getting passed another joint resolution in favour of the government and the use of force against the protesters who attempted to breach into the buildings which are icons of democracy.
Premier Sharif, agreeing to the proposal of Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah and Leader of Opposition in Senate Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, decided to convene the joint session of parliament on Tuesday, a press release issued by PM media office stated.
The meeting, which was attended by federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Ch Nisar Ali Khan, Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Zahid Hamid, Abdul Quadir Baloch and Khawaja Saad Rafiq, condemned the ‘attack’ of the protesters who they said were breaking into the Parliament House and intending to run over the Prime Minister House.
They condemned the ‘attack’ on symbols of the state by two political parties and regarded it undemocratic and unconstitutional. The steps taken by police and security forces to defend and defeat such acts were appreciated. The prime minister expressed the determination that no one would be allowed to play with dignity of the parliament and supremacy of the constitution.
It was maintained that the government adopted the path of negotiations but was betrayed and an invasion was made despite prior commitment. It was agreed that this undemocratic onslaught should be withdrawn and parties should come back to the negotiation table. The participants of the meeting were of the view that the government adopted the way of dialogue to resolve the issues but other side deviated from their promises.
Sources in the government confirmed that even after the continuous backtracking from the commitments made by both PTI and PAT leadership the government was ready to engage them into meaningful dialogue and would accept all their demands remaining within the precincts of the constitution. The interior ministry was directed to utilise all resources to ensure protection of state institutions without loss of life.
Meeting condemned few ‘unauthorised’ acts of violence against media, which resulted in injuries to media persons and damage to their equipment. The PM directed information ministry to start immediate investigation of these incidents and promptly ensure verified compensation mechanism. He also directed to devise a plan for the assistance of affected media persons.