PTI To Boycott Joint Parliament Session On November 17

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) announced last week it would boycott the joint parliament session on November 17, 2016 when the visiting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogon is due to address the parliamentarians. According to the latest move in the political party, the decision has called anger among the members of PTI and most of its parliamentarians are unhappy with it.

Many senators and MNAs from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf are also complaining they weren't taken into confidence over the matter by any of the senior leaders of the party. Expressing their anger, they said a "media strategy committee" took such a big decision that was formed for formulating the response from the party members in wake of Panama leaks case hearings, and for responding to ministers' statements on matter.

With the decision of boycotting the session being held on Thursday, the PTI has blown the questions on the power of its committee for taking’s decisions with no need of consulting party's members. The party has been campaigning “the power of democracy” but it doesn’t seem to have with PTI’s members.

The PTI had its media strategy committee's meeting on Saturday in which they decided not to attend the joint parliament sitting because it would be lead by a “controversial prime minister” who has been found with corruption charges.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the vice chairman, PTI clarified that their party considers Turkey as brother Muslim country and a sincere friend of Pakistan and they have a great respect for Tayyip Erodogn. However, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has a clear perspective on the Panama Papers offshore companies scam lawsuit. It’s worth mentioning that the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, Anwar Zaheer Jamali is leading the lawsuit against several MNAs and ministers including the Prime Minister and his children Mariam Safdar and Hussain Nawaz.

It also appears as some MNAs were unaware of Party's decision as an Member National Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa revealed he learned this from today morning's newspaper that his party would boycott parliament on November 17. The MNA also expressed his anger complaining about the top PTI's leaders, who according to him, didn't bother to seek parliamentarians' opinion over the matter.

PTI sources also reveal that the leadership didn't even consult Nauman Wazir, party's parliamentary leader in Senate on the issue and announced that PTI's senators would also not attend the joint session.

To another MNS, it is strange to accept that PTI knows how easy it is to communicate through modern technology like Twitter and WhatsApp but it still didn't bother to seek their opinion using these tools and just announced the decision.

He also said he can't find any logics behind continuing the boycott of parliament after its one of the demands has already been accepted where it said that Nawaz Sharif should present himself for accountability. And since the party cancelled its protest after the hearings of the Panama case in the Supreme Court were started, then it must stop continuing the boycott of National Assembly as after that there's no logic of doing it any longer.