Cursing parliament is same as cursing yourself: PM Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Friday that if a member curses the parliament, then it means he is cursing himself.

Speaking during a programme aired on a private news channel, he said that a member of the parliament should speak only after weighing his/her words first. “Those who cursed the parliament should apologise, or else they will get a befitting answer in the elections.”

The comments by the prime minister came two days after an anti-government rally in Lahore, during which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had cursed the parliament for allowing Nawaz Sharif to head the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after his disqualification.

Imran’s remarks were followed by repeated curses hurled at the parliament by Sheikh Rasheed, who also announced his resignation from the assembly. The prime minister denied the news that the name of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri’s was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).

“According to my knowledge, Tahirul Qadri has Canadian citizenship,” he said, adding that the PAT chief was not alone on the stage during the Lahore rally as the leadership of major political parties also accompanied him. Abbasi further said that, “Controversial statements were also made regarding the parliament from the stage.”

“I always wondered whether a foreign citizen can issue anti-government statements,” the premier said, adding they would take notice of the PAT chief’s statement regarding toppling the government.

Responding to a question regarding growing incidents of child abuse in the country, he said, “We are trying our best to arrest the culprits involved in this heinous crime. High-ranking officials of police are present in Kasur and we are hoping that the suspect in Kasur incident would be apprehended soon on the basis of available evidence.”

Speaking about the political crisis in Balochistan, the prime minister said that he visited Quetta to inquire about the reasons behind the unrest. “Members told me that they are under immense pressure and receiving calls from certain quarters,” he added. He also said that he held a meeting with the entire (PML-N) parliamentary party a few weeks ago.