Govt counts on MPs’ help against PTI rally
National Assembly to convene on Wednesday to debate inter alia Nov 30 protest.
ISLAMABAD:
As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ups the ante for its ‘decisive’ November 30 rally in the federal capital, the National Assembly will open Wednesday evening a session that will continue for three weeks, a senior official said.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is to brief his fellow lawmakers on Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the overall political situation in the country. He will also take the house into confidence on the government’s stance on PTI’s November 30 rally.
All parliamentary parties are expected to reiterate their support for the current democratic set-up. Qaumi Wattan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao told The Express Tribune that his party could not possibly back Imran Khan’s call for mid-term elections. “We also want to see the PTI completing its five-year constitutional tenure in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.
Originally, the National Assembly session was scheduled to open on November 17. However, it was delayed for Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah who was out of the country.
A senior politician told The Express Tribune that all political parties would give a clear message to the establishment that they were united and would resist any unconstitutional step. “A joint session of parliament had frustrated the designs of PTI and PAT to topple the government. Once again parliament will stand against any such threat,” he added.
The government has offered even to facilitate the PTI if its rally remains peaceful. However, government officials have warned that they would not allow anybody to create a law and order situation in the federal capital.
Last week, the interior minister said that army troops requisitioned earlier under Article 245 of the Constitution have been withdrawn and now civilian law enforcement agencies would guard key buildings in Islamabad.
Authorities have been restricting entry to certain areas by placing shipping containers and barbed wire.
An MP from the ruling PML-N said that the heads of all parliamentary parties would be asked to take part in debates on internally displaced persons (IDPs) from North Waziristan and PTI’s rally. “The house will send a strong message to Imran and his supporters who are maligning parliament, the judiciary and the media,” he added.
Apart from the PTI rally, other items on the National Assembly agenda include a Q&A session and debate on the presidential address.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2014.
As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ups the ante for its ‘decisive’ November 30 rally in the federal capital, the National Assembly will open Wednesday evening a session that will continue for three weeks, a senior official said.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is to brief his fellow lawmakers on Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the overall political situation in the country. He will also take the house into confidence on the government’s stance on PTI’s November 30 rally.
All parliamentary parties are expected to reiterate their support for the current democratic set-up. Qaumi Wattan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao told The Express Tribune that his party could not possibly back Imran Khan’s call for mid-term elections. “We also want to see the PTI completing its five-year constitutional tenure in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.
Originally, the National Assembly session was scheduled to open on November 17. However, it was delayed for Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah who was out of the country.
A senior politician told The Express Tribune that all political parties would give a clear message to the establishment that they were united and would resist any unconstitutional step. “A joint session of parliament had frustrated the designs of PTI and PAT to topple the government. Once again parliament will stand against any such threat,” he added.
The government has offered even to facilitate the PTI if its rally remains peaceful. However, government officials have warned that they would not allow anybody to create a law and order situation in the federal capital.
Last week, the interior minister said that army troops requisitioned earlier under Article 245 of the Constitution have been withdrawn and now civilian law enforcement agencies would guard key buildings in Islamabad.
Authorities have been restricting entry to certain areas by placing shipping containers and barbed wire.
An MP from the ruling PML-N said that the heads of all parliamentary parties would be asked to take part in debates on internally displaced persons (IDPs) from North Waziristan and PTI’s rally. “The house will send a strong message to Imran and his supporters who are maligning parliament, the judiciary and the media,” he added.
Apart from the PTI rally, other items on the National Assembly agenda include a Q&A session and debate on the presidential address.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2014.