Politicians who have to apologise for their actions shouldn't be in politics: Khursheed Shah

National Assembly opposition leader says no ‘container’ can threaten parliament now

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah, apparently taking a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, said on Sunday that politicians who had to apologise for their actions had no right to continue being in politics.

Speaking at a public gathering in Sindh’s Saleh Pat area, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly reiterated that the masses were the true source of strength in the country, Express News reported.

“We have strengthened the parliament and no ‘container’ can threaten it now,” he said in an apparent reference to the PTI's anti-government sit-in in 2014 where it had used a container.

ECP drops contempt case against Imran

Shah also accused politicians of complacency, saying that they thought they had become invincible after coming into power. “I always advised [deposed prime minister] Nawaz Sharif to seek solutions to problems in the parliament. However, both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan consider coming to the parliament an insult,” he added.

A few days ago, the Election Commission of Pakistan dropped a contempt case against the PTI chief, who apologised to the polls supervisory body for using derogatory language against it.

Imran was facing two separate contempt applications filed by a disgruntled member of his party, Akbar S Babar, who had initially moved the ECP to crosscheck the PTI’s alleged funding by foreign sponsors.

The first contempt application was filed on January 23, 2017 after Khan and the PTI refused to submit the party’s financial documents to the ECP, while accusing the polls supervisory body of political bias in a review application dated January 9, 2017.

The second contempt application against Khan, also filed by Babar, accused him of casting aspersions on the ECP during a press talk in Karachi on September 20.

Why the let-off!: Minister critical of ECP reprieve for Imran

The ECP repeatedly summoned the PTI chief and served a show-cause notice on him on August 24 after he failed to appear before it. Later, the ECP issued non-bailable warrant for Khan’s arrest.

He, however, appeared before the ECP on Thursday after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended his non-bailable warrants on October 24 while rejecting his application to suspend contempt proceedings in the ECP.