PTI to skip today's joint parliament session

All party senators barred from attending the meeting despite SC advise to rejoin the parliament

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced its decision to not attend the upcoming parliament session on Tuesday.

According to the opposition chamber, no PTI senator will participate in the joint session of the parliament as all senators have been instructed to not attend the meeting.

The joint-sitting of the parliament will be held today at 4 pm.

Last week, PTI chief and ousted premier Imran Khan had categorically stated that his party will not go back to the National Assembly.

It is pertinent to note that in September, the Supreme Court had seconded the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) advice to the PTI as it had urged the party to rejoin the parliament.

Read IHC throws out PTI challenge to section 144 in capital

The top court was hearing a petition filed by the PTI challenging the IHC’s judgment where the court had termed the phased acceptance of party resignations by the National Assembly speaker as legal.

Lawmakers from the former ruling party had resigned en masse from the National Assembly on April 11, following the ouster of Imran as the premier through a no-confidence motion.

Talking to beat reporters in the federal capital, the PTI chairman while referring to the recent audio leaks had said that he was “grateful” to the government for reviving the issue of the cypher.

“It is clearly mentioned in the cypher that Imran Khan should be removed [from top office]. How come those who benefitted from the cypher can investigate it?” he asked.

Imran had said that the PTI will not go back to the National Assembly “under any circumstances”, adding that the incumbent regime was not democratic but “criminal”.