Pakistan PM seeks parliament support again

Islamabad, Sep 1: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called a joint session of the national parliament Tuesday to seek support for his government in the face of the current political turmoil, The Nation reported Monday.

Sharif presided over a high-level meeting of his cabinet colleagues in the Prime Minister House in Islamabad to discuss the ongoing clashes between police force and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) protestors in the Red Zone and its possible political fallout.

Sharif, agreeing to the proposal of Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah and Leader of Opposition in Senate Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, decided to convene the joint session of parliament Tuesday, a press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office stated.

The meeting, which was attended by federal ministers, condemned the attacks Sunday when the protestors broke into the Parliament House and intending to run over the Prime Minister House.

The attack left at least eight supporters reportedly killed and about 450 injured.

PTI chief Imran Khan Sunday vowed not to spare Sharif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan after Sunday's incident.

He told his supporters that FIRs would be registered against the Sharif brothers and the interior minister for murder as clashes continued in the Pakistani capital city between police and supporters of PTI and Tahir-ul-Qadri's PAT.

Police have arrested over 500 party workers.

Khan said he would continue to fight till his last breath.

Other than the PTI and PAT, the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has also demanded the prime minister's immediate resignation.

Following the clashes, party workers of the PTI and PAT started protests and blocked main roads in other major cities, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi.

Imran Khan, whose PTI has 34 seats in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament, alleges that Sharif rigged the 2013 general elections. He has been demanding a probe by the apex court and re-elections.

Qadri's supporters have been pressing for their 10-point agenda, including the prime minister's resignation and the registration of a murder case against 21 people, including Nawaz Sharif and his brother, over the June 17 police firing in Lahore's Model Town area against PAT demonstrators.

IANS