PTI to reassess its call to boycott Erdogan's parliament address

ISLAMABAD: PTI decided on Monday to review its decision to boycott a joint session of parliament which is to be addressed by the Turkish president in a meeting of its parliamentary party scheduled to be held on Tuesday (today).

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on a two-day official visit this week. A special joint sitting of parliament has been convened on November 17.

PTI’s vice-chairman (VP) Shah Mehmood Qureshi told The Express Tribune that during a recent meeting, Turkish Ambassador Sadik Babür Girgin advised the PTI to review its boycott decision.

A PTI delegation, led by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, met the Turkish envoy Girgin in this regard.

Qureshi stated that the PTI would review its decision on the advice of the Turkish envoy. He said that the party wanted its principled stance to be understood in its proper context. “It was a cordial meeting … We assured Turkish diplomat that PTI’s boycott was not connected with the Turkish president’s arrival.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2016.