Ayaz Sadiq says he has told Maulana Fazl, PML-N parliamentarians will not resign from the National Assembly
Resigning en masse from the parliament is not an option for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, a senior leader of the political party.
Sadiq was in Islamabad on Monday, representing the PML-N at a multi-party conference (MPC) of the opposition parties, hosted by Maulana Fazlur Rehman. At the meeting, explains Sadiq, he communicated to Rehman that parliamentarians from his party will not resign from the National Assembly. “That is just not an option,” Sadiq told Geo.tv, “Why should we leave this field unattended? The parliament is an important forum.”
The PML-N is the largest opposition party in the country, with 84 seats in the 342-member parliament. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), with 55 seats, also agreed with the PML-N at the sit down, added Sadiq.
The PML-N leader’s words contradict the statement made by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday. Talking to the media later in the day, Rehman announced that the opposition could always resign together from the assemblies or table a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.
Rehman and tens of thousands of his supporters have camped out in Pakistan’s federal capital, Islamabad, since the last five days demanding Prime Minister Imran Khan’s resignation. Earlier, the JUI-F gave the prime minister a two-day deadline to step down, which was then extended.
In the last week, a delegation of the government has held several meetings with the opposition parties, but have failed to make breakthrough. As of today, negotiations are ongoing.
Sadiq tells Geo.tv that the opposition has four demands: resignation of the prime minister, new election, election without interference and ensuring that the constitution is followed.
While the decision to call-off the sit-in, said the PML-N, is Rehman’s to make, “since he is the groom, we are only the barati (wedding guests),” but Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N president, is nonetheless in regular contact with the JUI-F chief, even though he skipped the Monday moot.
“In fact they spoke day before yesterday over the phone.”