ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Tuesday said that ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan – whose party left the National Assembly in April – should return to Parliament.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPs resigned en masse after Imran was ousted in a no-confidence vote and have not since returned to the lower house of parliament, despite being told by the Supreme Court.
Talking to senior journalists at a function in the federal capital, Shujaat said that the people who elected him and sent him to Parliament are watching his actions. He said that if PTI legislators in Parliament It will not be in anyone’s interest if they continue to enjoy privileges despite not having them.
Imran’s ouster has led to continued political turmoil in the country and a serious crisis recently erupted in Punjab when Governor Balighur Rehman removed Chief Minister Pervez Elahi, a staunch ally of Imran. And Shujaat’s cousin had said that he would dissolve the assembly as per PTI chief’s orders.
But since then the situation has remained stable as the Lahore High Court (LHC) made Elahi take an oath that he would not dissolve the assembly, although that did not stop him from seeking a vote of confidence.
To ensure that the assembly is not dissolved, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari also visited Shujaat’s residence in Lahore earlier.
In today’s conversation, Shujaat said political and economic stability is vital for the country and general elections should be held on time – an issue on which the government and PTI are at loggerheads.
“If we all work together for Pakistan, then only we can save it. If we cannot put aside our differences and the situation continues, everything will be lost,” he warned. .
Shujaat, who is also a former prime minister, said that only if political parties can understand the need to put aside their differences, then Pakistan can convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.
The IMF program has been stalled since September as the government has failed to meet the demands of the ninth review, while foreign exchange reserves and the rupee are at record lows, with inflation continuing to skyrocket.
“If we don’t ensure political stability, no one will send a single rupee our way. Will we ensure Imran’s key demand – ending unemployment?” He thought.
Shujaat also called for consensus among political parties as he stressed that this was the only way to ensure the survival of Pakistan. If we cannot understand this, neither the country nor the parties can survive.
He added that neither the armed forces nor anyone else would intervene and warned that stability was “key” for Pakistan at this time as several regional powers, including India, wanted to destabilize the country.
