F.P. Report
KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the anti-parliament remarks passed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and his ally Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed.
The resolution stipulates that Khan and Rasheed should tender a ‘public apology’ for maligning the supreme institution.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan Kamali presented the resolution. During the heated session of provincial assembly, the lawmakers threatened street agitation if an apology wasn’t made on the matter.
Khan had cursed the parliament in a recently held ‘grand protest’ in Lahore over making amendments in law and allowing a disqualified person to become the head of political party.
“When a Parliament, which must protect the nation’s interests, passes a person-specific law allowing a disqualified person guilty of Rs3 bn money laundering, tax evasion, concealment of assets, forgery & perjury to become head of a pol [political] party, then such a law is a “laanath” [curse] on Parl [parliament],” he asserted in a subsequent statement on his official Twitter account.
In a follow-up to his earlier tweet, he said the use of ‘damned’ word is still a mild word to use. “If anyone disagrees, I challenge them to do a public poll on what ppl [people] think of such a Parliament. I can guarantee most will condemn it,” Khan said.
The tweets were made at the heels of a protest by the major opposition parties in Lahore to demand justice for victims of the Model Town tragedy.
Hitting back at Imran Khan for his comments, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif last week said no true democrat could abuse the parliament.
He was addressing a session of National Assembly when he said the opposition parties have fundamental right to criticize the government but the parliament deserves the respect for being a law-making institution of the country.
“The respect to parliament is to respect all national institutions,” he then underlined. He said it was beyond his understanding as on one hand PTI desired to make a majority in the parliament to come into power and on the other hand the party chairman abused the legislature.
