Tariq Fazal invites PTI back to parliament

Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry invites PTI to return to parliament, praising opposition input during budget scrutiny. He links PTI committee resignations to internal party disputes and says boycotts sidelined them from the process.

Parliamentary Affair Minister says opposition actively contributed to budget scrutiny in earlier sessions
Claims government incorporated opposition input ‘in a constructive spirit,’ lauding young lawmakers for positive role in parliamentary committee
Claims internal PTI rifts behind resignations from standing committees, saying boycott distanced opposition from budget and legislative process

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Sunday invited the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to return to parliament and play a constructive role in legislative business, while acknowledging what he described as their positive input during recent budget-making deliberations before resigning from parliamentary standing committees.

Talking to the media, the minister said opposition members had actively participated in previous budget-related sessions and scrutinised financial proposals in detail.

He added that the government had taken opposition input seriously and incorporated it in a constructive spirit during the budget process, particularly appreciating the performance of young parliamentarians such as Osama Mela and Mubeen Arif in committee proceedings.

Dr Chaudhry said internal differences within PTI had emerged over the appointment of chairpersons of certain committees, with the main dispute centred on the Public Accounts Committee chairmanship of Junaid Akbar Khan.

He maintained that while party leaders had attempted to project ideological differences publicly, the matter was essentially an internal party dispute. He further alleged that a particular group within PTI had persuaded party founder Imran Khan to direct resignations in order to remove Junaid Akbar.

The parliamentary affairs minister said that after resigning from the standing committees, opposition members were left without any institutional role in the budget process.

“By boycotting the proceedings of the standing committees, the opposition has distanced itself from the budget process. This is only the first step, and it remains to be seen what course they take inside parliament,” he added.

Dr Chaudhry reiterated his invitation to PTI to return to parliamentary proceedings and contribute positively to legislative work.