ISLAMABAD: Just a day after de-seating motions tabled by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians were withdrawn by the parties, PTI lawmakers opted not to attend the National Assembly (NA) session Friday.
The PTI media cell said that Imran Khan has called a meeting of the party's parliamentary leaders at his Bani Gala residence.
The party leadership is expected to discuss the PTI's future course of action at the meeting, and will attend Monday's session of the NA.
Quelling political drama that had stretched out over several months, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday informed the House that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had agreed to withdraw his party's motion to de-seat the PTI.
The decision comes a day after the government said it had successfully managed to convince the JUI-F to withdraw its resolution.
Angry opposition parties rivalling the PTI had made a fresh attempt to bar the party from the NA after a judicial commission ruled against Imran Khan’s allegations of rigging in the May 2013 elections.
Salman Khan Baloch moved the withdrawal motion on behalf of the MQM, while Naeema Kishwar Khan moved the same on behalf of the JUI-F.
PTI's Information Secretary Shireen Mazari said that the PTI had "neither approached the JUI-F nor the MQM for any bargaining. In fact, the PTI absented itself during the course of the motion's progress."
She said that "dialogues and discussions" occurred between other parties, and the PTI "was never party to these".
Also read: MQM, JUI-F withdraw motion to de-seat PTI
PTI MNA submits call attention notice
PTI MNA Ayesha Gulalai submitted a call attention notice in the National Assembly today against MQM's move of writing a letter to the Indian High Commission.
Take a look: 'MQM' letters to Indian HC sought help over missing workers
Letters purportedly written by the MQM to the Indian High Commission emerged on Thursday, in which the party asked the mission to raise its voice to safeguard human rights “particularly in Karachi”.
MQM lawmaker Farooq Sattar in a press conference had said that "no letter has been written to the Indian High Commissioner regarding the arrest of party activists".
"If any of our leaders' letters written to diplomats included the email address of Indian High Commissioner then it can be a technical error but it was not an intentional effort," he clarified, not stating the exact contents of the letter or whom it was sent by.
