ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: A new group of smaller parties has offered mediation to the major political parties on Wednesday to resolve the present stalemate created due to their inability in forming a government.
The group comprises Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT), Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), Hamid Nasir Chatta’s Pakistan Muslim League-Junejo (PML-J) and Ejazul Haq’s Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z).
“The sooner we come out of the present crisis, the early we would achieve the goals for which the nation is waiting for a long time,” observed Tahirul Qadri while talking to journalists here at the central secretariat of the PTI, where they had gathered to hold a meeting. PTI’s central information secretary Akbar S.Babar represented Imran Khan, who was not present at the meeting.
However, Qadri said it was up to the major political parties, such as, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), to accept this group as a mediator to help in resolving the present impasse.
He did not elaborate as to what suggestions his group had to offer to the major parties for the resolution of the issue.
About the postponement of the National Assembly, he said there seemed no justification of any delay and the early it was convened the better it would be for the nation.
To a question, he said, the parliament would devise its own ways to wriggle out of the present crisis, he observed.
The PAT chief said Wednesday’s meeting was third in a series of the four-member group in which the parties had reached a consensus to continue the struggle for achieving the basic objectives, including restoration of the Constitution and democracy, supremacy of the parliament and allowing its independent functioning so that the system could work without any hindrance.
About Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan’s calling of all parties conference, he said the idea was first floated by Ejazul Haq, but added that the group had not received any invitation.
He said the group had not yet decided as to whom it should support as prime minister and hold both the political parties as well as the military government responsible for the present deadlock.
Qadri also commented that he saw no threat to the present parliament.