Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Announcing that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would participation in today’s joint session of parliament, Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday said he was unable to comprehend why the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had decided to sit this meeting out.

“Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister [for the PTI] in the All Parties Conference the other day,” he told a press conference, wondering what had changed in a single day.

Flanked by opposition leader in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah, Kaira said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would witness the proceedings of the session from the visitor’s gallery. Foreseeing the challenges confronting Pakistan before the world, he urged the government to work for ‘national harmony’.

He said that the PPP – as well as Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – had advised the government to ensure national harmony and internal unity in order to send a “clear message” to the world while raising the issue of Kashmir.

He said that the prevailing situation in the country demanded that the government take the opposition on board by resolving their issues, which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also agreed to, and added them to the joint statement issued after the All Parties Conference (APC) the other day.

The Panama issue needs to be addressed, Kaira said – which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had earlier mentioned. According to Kaira, addressing such issues would help quell the protests.

The PPP leader said that progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) –also being dubbed the ‘game changer’ – had slowed down mainly due to the lethargic attitude of the government.

Kaira said the PPP had experienced a somewhat similar situation during its tenure, but confronted it by holding an APC, which aimed at ensuring national harmony.

He urged the present government to follow suit. “Nawaz Sharif should promote national harmony,” Kaira said. “We are highlighting the atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir – which is good – but on the other hand party members in Azad Kashmir are being detained under ‘false’ and ‘fake’ cases,” he added.