ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman has declared that parliamentary sessions will remain unfinished until the outstanding issues between her party and the PML-N-led government are addressed. She made these comments after a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday, speaking alongside other PPP leaders.
Joining Rehman at the media briefing were Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and PPP leader Farooq H Naik. Earlier, delegations from both PPP and PML-N convened in the speaker’s chamber to deliberate on the current political climate. The PML-N delegation included Senator Rana Sanaullah and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, while the PPP side was represented by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, Murtaza Wahab, Farooq H Naik, and Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar.
Rehman explained that regular discussions take place in the speaker’s chamber concerning parliamentary sessions, noting that the current session was approaching its end. She emphasized the necessity of resolving differences between the coalition partners, acknowledging that disagreements exist and were openly discussed during the meeting.
She stressed that PPP’s participation was not merely to maintain quorum but to seek resolution of these issues. “If we are in a coalition, it must be respected,” she added, warning that until the disputes are settled, parliamentary sessions will remain incomplete.
Her statement follows PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s recent announcement that the party would withhold support from the PML-N-led government until its concerns, including those related to the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, are satisfactorily addressed. Bilawal had asserted that PPP’s cooperation on general matters would not continue without resolution of these legitimate issues.
Meanwhile, Mayor Murtaza Wahab described the meeting as a routine dialogue aimed at discussing and resolving problems, highlighting the long-standing collaboration between the two parties. Farooq H Naik also characterized the discussions as positive and conducted in a pleasant atmosphere, affirming that “everything is fine.”
In a significant development, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq stated that the government had repeatedly invited Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for talks but had grown weary of extending such invitations and would no longer issue further calls for negotiations. He noted that resignations submitted by PTI members from parliamentary committees had yet to be accepted.
The speaker also affirmed that the opposition’s right to bring a no-confidence motion against the prime minister or the speaker is constitutionally valid and assured that any such motion would be handled in accordance with the law.
