Political decisions should be taken in parliament, not GHQ: PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said that political decisions should be made in the parliament, not at the General Headquarters (GHQ).
Maryam, who was at the Islamabad High Court for a hearing of an appeal against her conviction in the Avenfield property reference, was responding to a question from a reporter about Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and head of the ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed’s meeting with key opposition figures.
“I don’t know about a dinner, maybe it was not a dinner [but] I heard about the meeting. From what I understand it was called to discuss Gilgit-Baltistan which is a political issue, an issue of the people’s representatives, for them to solve and deliberate upon.
“These decisions should be made in parliament, not in GHQ,” she said. When asked whether former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was aware of the meeting, she said: “I don’t know whether he was aware of [the meeting] or if he learnt of it later.“But the political leadership should not be called nor should it go to discuss such issues. Whoever wishes to discuss these issues should come to the parliament.”
Earlier in the week, it emerged that the army chief and the head of the ISI had held a meeting with key opposition figures before their multiparty conference and cou­n­selled them to refrain from dragging the military into political issues.
The September 16 meeting was attended by about 15 opposition figures including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Sheh­baz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bil­a­wal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq, ANP’s Amir Haider Hoti, JUI-F’s Asad Mahmood, PML-N leaders Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal, PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman and a few government ministers.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, while confirming the meeting and its participants in a conversation with Dawn, had said the meeting was held to discuss the impending changes in the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, the opposition had used this opportunity to flag its concerns about other matters, especially the military’s alleged interference in politics and allegations of persecution of its leaders on the pretext of accountability. Source: dawn.com