Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif singled out Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed as the government formally invited parliamentary leaders of all political parties to attend a meeting to be held at PM House today (Monday) to discuss prevailing tense relations with India over Kashmir issue and evolving a joint strategy.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the much important meeting of political leaders for the first time as he has been asked by his father and former President Asif Ali Zardari to lead the party's delegation. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif telephoned Zardari on Saturday and extended him the invitation for the meeting.
The government has sent invitations to parliamentary leaders of all the parties including those having a single seat in National Assembly and Senate except Pervez Musharrf's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), and AML of Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.
When contacted, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed Business Recorder that Nawaz Sharif knew his services for Kashmir, as there could be hardly any politician in the parliament who had contributed for the just struggle of people of occupied Kashmir for their right to self determination.
"He (Nawaz Sharif) is afraid of me, and has no courage to face me. Out of about seven or more parties in the parliament, there is only one Sheikh Rasheed of whom the prime minister is scared of," he added.
He called upon the prime minister to recall his services and contribution for Kashmir cause, which according to him, the prime minister knew as it was Sheikh Rasheed who had been persuading him to be vocal in highlighting the Kashmir issue.
"I just want to ask him (Sharif) to tell me whose had rendered great sacrifices for Kashmir issue [and] when I was struggling, the prime minister was with me, and it's quite shameful to know that the government did not invite me," her added.
PTI chairman Imran Khan came down hard on the government for not inviting Sheikh Rasheed, and said discriminating against Sheikh Rasheed reflects a petty and intolerant mindset which cannot evolve national consensus.
"If the government is seeking national consensus on Kashmir why has Sheikh Rasheed not been invited when other parties with single representative in parliament have been invited," he said in a tweet.
Background discussion with leaders of different political parties revealed that the government has convened the meeting to build a consensus on Kashmir issue ahead of the joint-sitting of parliament scheduled for Wednesday.
They said that the prime minister faced severe criticism for not hitting hard at India during his address to United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting, due to which the government wants to take all the parties onboard on the issue of Kashmir and the recent cross border firing at the line of control (LoC).
They said that the meeting with parliamentary leaders of all political parties is to woo them so that there would be no walkout and protest by opposition parties during the joint-sitting of parliament.
However, a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which has already confirmed to participate in meeting, said that the party would raise the issue why India had resorted to confrontation with Pakistan despite Nawaz Sharif's appeasement.
"We'll attend the meeting as it's quite important but the government will have to ensure why it has failed to confront India, especially the prime minister who did not speak from the heart at UNGA meeting...we want satisfactory answers to this issues as what the government is doing to confront India," he added.
The government ahs extended invitation to Chaudhary Shujaat Husaain of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F), Ejazul Haq of PML-Zia, Mehmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of Awami National Party (ANP), Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who is also the opposition leader in National Assembly.
A spokesman of General Pervez Musharraf's APML also confirmed that the government did not invite the APML MNA, adding we have one seat in the National Assembly and we should have been invited.