Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Hussain on Friday called for release of PTI founder from jail and allocation of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The PTI-backed winning candidates joined the SIC as they contested Feb 8 elections as independents. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Mushahid recalled that he had also demanded release of ex-president Asif Zardari, former premier Yousuf Gilani and Javed Hashmi during the late General Pervez Musharraf’s rule, and of Nawaz Sharif in 2018.
He said he would demand release of the PTI founder, who is a former prime minister also, calling him a political prisoner. A “new chapter” has begun after the Feb 8 elections, he said and added that “there is a need for a healing touch”. “Include everyone and give a general amnesty,” the PML-N senator said, claiming that a “general amnesty was even given to the TTP that killed our children.”— Ijaz Kakakhel
