ISLAMABAD: In an unusual move, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq telephoned self-exiled Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain in London on Wednesday, requesting him to ask his party to withdraw its motion seeking to deseat 28 house members of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for their long absence from the house last year, a senior assembly official said.

The official confirmed earlier reports aired by some private television channels about the telephone call to the MQM leader, which he said was made at 5.30pm.

Also read: Imran Khan suspends Justice (r) Wajihuddin's PTI membership

He said the MQM leader promised to respond to the speaker’s request after consulting his party.

No response had come until late in the evening, the official said, while the speaker had convened a meeting of parliamentary leaders on Thursday morning before taking up the two identical motions tabled by the MQM and the government-allied Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play