Khawaja Asif hits back at Imran Khan over anti-parliament comments

ISLAMABAD: Hitting back at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan for his anti-parliament comments, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said no true democrat could abuse the parliament.

Addressing a heated session of National Assembly, the foreign minister said the opposition parties have fundamental right to criticize the government but the parliament deserves the respect for being a law-making institution of the country.

“The respect to parliament is to respect all national institutions,” he underlined.

He said it is beyond his understanding as on one hand PTI desires to make a majority in the parliament to come into power and on the other hand the party chairman abuses the legislature.

“You cannot come to power with tirades against the parliament,” he thundered.

Taking a jibe at opponents, he said parliament is the ideal place for making decisions rather than rallies. “This house has granted you respect as a member after the voters expressed their confidence in you,” he reminded opponents.

Without citing anyone’s name, he said the people raging at the parliament do not have respect over changing their loyalties repeatedly.

He said the nation’s head hangs in shame for such dreadful politics. “Everyone has right to campaign for upcoming General Elections but no one is allowed to hurl abuses at the legislature,” he asserted.

NA adopts resolution condemning anti-parliament remarks by Imran, Rasheed 

Earlier today, the National Assembly passed a resolution against PTI chairman Imran Khan and his ally Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed, adopting a stance that both political figures have attempted to malign the ‘supreme institution’.

Opposition leader in the house Syed Khursheed Shah deplored Khan’s anti-parliament remarks and said the parliament is a supreme institution.

He said the sanctity of house is imperative for every true democrat. “I can’t utter those words used against the parliament in the opposition rally,” Shah said.

Curse on parliament to reelect corrupt person as party head: IK

In a tweet on Thursday, the PTI chairman cursed the parliament for allowing a disqualified person to become the head of political party.

“When a Parliament, which must protect nation’s interests, passes a person-specific law allowing a disqualified person guilty of Rs3 bn money laundering, tax evasion, concealment of assets, forgery & perjury to become head of a pol [political] party, then such a law is a “laanath” [curse] on Parl [parliament],” he tweeted.

In a subsequent tweet, he said the use of ‘damned’ word is still a mild word to use. “If anyone disagrees, I challenge them to do a public poll on what ppl [people] think of such a Parliament. I can guarantee most will condemn it,” Khan said in his tweet.

Khan made these tweets at the heels of a protest by the major opposition parties in Lahore to demand justice for victims of the Model Town tragedy.