The president of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, said on Tuesday that an guest delegation of American legislators had made no mention of the president of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI) imprisoned Imran Khan, during their recent commitments in Islamabad.
In a statement, Sadiq said that the Congress Delegation, which held a series of meetings with government representatives and politicians on the sidelines of the Pakistan 2025 mineral forum, clearly said they had no interest or role in the internal political affairs of Pakistan.
His remarks came in response to the president of the PTI, lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, who alleged that the leaders of his party were deliberately excluded from official interactions with the delegation. Gohar said he had not been informed of the meetings and received no official or informal invitation.
Rejecting the complaint, Sadiq said that Gohar and the chief whip of Pti Amir Dogar were both invited to a dinner organized for the American delegation, but chose not to attend. “It was an opportunity for PTI leaders to speak directly with the Americans-the same people they often call for support,” he said.
The speaker said that other PTI leaders, including Atif Khan and Dr Amjad, had participated in the meeting and then confirmed that no discussion had taken place concerning the legal situation of Imran Khan or his potential release.
Atif Khan said he was not aware that Gohar or other PTI personalities had received invitations, adding that representatives of several political parties and federal ministers were present.
Sadiq also said that the leaders of the partner of the ruling coalition, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had used the meeting to raise concerns about the questions related to the channel in the Sindh and the Punjab. “Thirty people talked about channels, but the opposition missed its chance to advance its points,” he added.
The speaker noted that when the PPP filed a resolution on the issue in Parliament, he had reminded them that it had already been debated, and the Dar-Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had published a statement concerning the issue.
Sadiq then criticized the treatment by the opposition of parliamentary procedures, declaring that the legislation was delayed due to a lack of quorum and non-frequency.
“Production prescriptions have been issued, prisons declared underlying and all procedures have been documented and available online,” he said.
Reiterating his commitment to dialogue, Sadiq shared that he was in contact with the leader of the National-Mégal of Balutchistan (BNP-M) Akhtar Mengal and Jamiat Ulema-Elam-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman to explore means of improving cooperation. “I think you have to get involved with the opposition, but no one can be forced to talks,” he added.
He declared that a decision had also been made that no legislator would be authorized to report the quorum during the time of questions, warning that if a motion of non-conflict was attempted, it could destabilize the opposition itself.
Meanwhile, the head of the opposition of the Senate of the PTI, Syed Shibli Faraz, criticized Sadiq for having excluded the leaders of opposition parties in the two chambers of Parliament, while allowing other members to join the meetings.
