Islamabad: As Pakistan’s parliament discussed the demand by a right-wing party to consider the expulsion of the French envoy, the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called off protests on Tuesday.
The House also adopted a motion to form a special committee to discuss the resolution. The National Assembly postponed the debate until Friday.
The debate was called following pressure from the ultra right-wing party TLP, which held violent anti-France protests for more than a week demanding the expulsion of the French envoy over offensive depictions of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) published in France.
“The issue of demand of expulsion of the French ambassador would be discussed in the parliament,” the resolution read. It also said that all European countries, especially France, would be informed of the gravity of the issue. The resolution further said that all Muslim countries should be consulted in this regard and the issue of disrespect to Islam should be taken up jointly on international forums. It also added that “Issues pertaining to foreign policy fall under the purview of the state and no party or group can exert any illegal pressure.”
Parliament speaker Asad Qaiser postponed discussion until Friday to include input from all parliament members with the consensus of government and opposition. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced boycott of the session, distancing itself from the debate on the expulsion of the French envoy, saying that the Prime Minister Imran Khan did not take the parliament into confidence on the issue earlier.
Religious Affairs Minister Qadri said that all issues should be resolved in the parliament instead of streets.
The parliament debate comes after talks held between the government representatives and TLP leaders. According to the agreement, all matters related to the issue would be resolved as per the law of Pakistan. “The government will not reverse the ban on TLP and those involved in violent attacks on police and vandalising public property will not be released,” reads the agreement shared by Arslan Khalid, the prime minister’s focal person on digital media. The government also announced a joint approach by all Islamic countries to address the issue of Islamophobia – the way forward also suggested by PM Imran Khan.
Khan appealed to the protesters not to harm the country’s economy at a time when Pakistan is dealing with coronavirus pandemic and economic pressures. “Violent protests in Pakistan have made no difference to France, rather it seriously affected Pakistan’s economy” he said.
