Saudi crown prince's visit not linked to any NRO: Noorul Haq Qadri

Opposition to hand in resignation from NA committees if Shehbaz removed, warns JUI-F

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has said visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman should not be seen as an attempt to ensure a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) style deal between the government and some beleaguered members of opposition.

“The Imran Khan I know will not sign any NRO,” Qadri said on Monday while responding to a question with regard to the rumours surround the crown prince’s visit to Pakistan and its possible relation to any secret deal to bail out the incarcerated leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

“The prime minister will neither sign nor admit to any NRO. However, political parties may be consulted for promoting political stability and ensuring a bright future for the country,” he added.

Separately, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Secretary General Abdul Ghafoor Haideri warned that all opposition lawmakers would resign from the National Assembly standing committees if the government removed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Shehbaz Sharif from his post.

“The opposition has decided that its members will resign from standing committees if such a decision is taken. The government will not be able to run parliamentary affairs if it keeps changing its decisions,” the JUI-F leader said while talking to media at a ceremony in Islamabad.



He said prime minister’s meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has mortified the entire nation. “The PM should not have committed such a mistake,” the senator said.

Haideri said those talking about a deal should be asked what they really want. He said politicians see many ups and downs. They may go to jail or get elected as the prime minister. “Imran Khan should start exercising patience as he has been elected as the prime minister,” he said.