ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has criticised the opposition leaders who had openly cursed the parliament at a rally in Lahore, saying the political leaders should be summoned to appear before the National Assembly to explain their remarks.
While addressing the joint opposition rally on Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had lambasted the parliament for allowing a ‘criminal’ to be elected as a party president.
“I curse the parliament that made a criminal the president of a party,” he said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) decision to elect ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif as its president.
During the rally, Sheikh Rasheed had also repeatedly cursed the parliament and announced his resignation from his National Assembly seat, prompting Imran Khan to consider quitting the assemblies on the grounds that parliament had lost its utility in protecting people’s rights.
Addressing the National Assembly session on Thursday, the foreign minister said, “All limits were crossed in the [joint opposition] rally,” and added that the “frustrations” of the opposition leaders knew no bounds.
He said that the leaders should be brought before a parliamentary committee of National Assembly. “They should be summoned, and if they still don’t come then arrest them and bring them here [assembly].
“We will not permit this [language],” Asif said. “The elections are coming up, everyone has the right to campaign and gather support from voters — but no one has the right to curse.”
“This House has never seen such shameful conduct,” Asif added.
“Whatever little respect you have, you have gotten it through your membership in the parliament,” Asif said, addressing Khan and Rasheed.
“They (Khan and Rasheed) are hurting the sanctity of this institution,” he added.
“If those who derive their strength from the parliament curse it, then all others institutions will lose respect for it. It will no longer be necessary for the other institutions to respect the parliament.”
The foreign minister also said that this is the “lowest point of politics” and it has left the “nation’s head hanging in shame”.
“Those who are members of this House and want to become the prime minister have insulted it,” Asif said.
He called for action to be taken against Khan and Rasheed by the privilege committee before the media.
Taking a jibe at Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri, who led the joint opposition rally demanding justice for victims of Model Town incident, Asif remarked: “He has no relation with Pakistan. He is exploiting religion and has made a mockery of the religion.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has distanced his party from the words used for parliament in the rally.
