- Joint session of Parliament to be convened on Tuesday to discuss political crisis
- Govt willing to resolve all issues on talks table
- Nawaz condemns attack on symbols of State by PTI, PAT protesters
A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House Sunday decided to convene a joint session of Parliament to discuss the situation in wake of violent clashes between law enforcement agencies and the supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).
The meeting also condemned the attack on State buildings by the protesters belonging to the two parties and commended the police and security forces for pushing back the protesters from the sensitive area.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Zahid Hamid, Lt General (r) Abdul Quadir Baloch and Khawaja Saad Rafiq.
According to sources, a report on the violent clashes in Islamabad was also presented in the meeting. The participants discussed the future course of action to normalise the situation and tackle the protesters who were not moving away.
Besides taking some important decisions, the meeting also discussed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Javed Hashmi’s disclosures about PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The meeting maintained that the government had adopted the path of negotiations but the protesting parties betrayed the government’s trust and went back on their promises. However, the participants hoped that better sense would prevail in the leaderships of the two parties and they would return to the dialogue table.
Reiterating his resolve of not submitting to the protesting parties’ demand of his resignation, the PM said that no one would be allowed to play with dignity of the Parliament and supremacy of the Constitution.
VIOLENCE AGAINT MEDIA CONDEMNED:
The meeting also condemned the police violence against media, which resulted in injuries to five journalists and damaged their equipment.
The PM directed Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage to start immediate investigation of these incidents and promptly ensure verified compensation mechanism, while directing that strict action be taken against the officials responsible.
In wake of the clashes between PTI and PAT protesters and the security forces, PM Nawaz Sharif had cut short his stay in Lahore and came back to the capital on Sunday afternoon.