ISLAMABAD           -        Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Monday said that the government will “welcome back” PTI MNAs to the National Assembly if they were to return but made it clear that any discussion over a caretaker setup can be held only once the mandated tenure of the government expires in August. The statement of the interior minister comes hours after PTI Chairman Imran Khan, in a meeting with journalists at his Zaman Park Residence in Lahore, hinted that he could be open to sending his party’s lawmakers back to the National Assembly to discuss a caretaker setup, which he feared could be decided by the government and opposition leader Raja Riaz if the PTI were to remain absent. Sanaullah, while talking to a private news channel regarding Imran’s comments, said: “Of course, we will welcome them [back] into the assembly as even when they were leaving, we had said it was an undemocratic decision.” The interior minister asserted, “They (PTI MNAs) will have to withdraw their resignations for returning [to the National Assembly] […] and will have to come and sit in the assembly.” He said that Imran will also have to submit a request to the speaker to become the leader of the opposition. Sanaullah reiterated the federal government’s stance of holding general elections upon the expiry of its full five-year term. “When the tenure of the assemblies would end on Aug 16, 2023, he (Imran) will be part of the consultation as the leader of the opposition and then the decision of the caretaker would be made.”