Opposition Leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub says they can engage in talks with the government once its founder and other incarcerated workers and leaders were released from jail.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-June 26th, 2024) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday invited the opposition to come, sit and discuss any issues they might have.
The prime minister himself went to Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and Asad Qaisar and did hand-shake with them.
“I once again say that let’s come, sit and talk if your founder [Imran Khan] is facing trouble in the jail,” said the PM while extending an offer to the opposition for talks.
Shehbaz Sharif recalled a time when politicians would harshly criticize each other in the house but would still stand together during moments of happiness and sorrow.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been at odds for years, especially after the February 8 elections, which Imran's party claims it won.
Reflecting on the 2018 elections, the prime minister remarked, "We joined the parliament despite the [rigged] polls. The kind of slogans raised during my first speech will always be remembered as a dark chapter in history."
He emphasized that justice should favor those facing victimization, regardless of whether they are politicians or from any other walk of life. The PM lamented that even when he was in the opposition, he proposed talks with Imran, but hostile slogans were raised again. "So who is responsible for this bitterness [between politicians]? We don't even shake hands now," he said.
He also mentioned the treatment of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah during their time in jail.
In response, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Ayub said that the house's proceedings could only continue if government members respected their opposition colleagues. He stated that reconciliation would occur only when the troubles of Yasmin Rashid, Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, and Hasan Niazi in jail were acknowledged. The PTI claimed that when former premier Nawaz Sharif was in prison, he had air conditioners installed in his jail cell.
He said the PTI would engage in talks with the government once its founder and other incarcerated workers and leaders were released from jail. “This should be in your minds: you torture our workers, you've kept our lady workers in prison vans at 45°C. My prime minister Imran Khan was kept in a death cell; it's like an oven over there," said the opposition leader.
