National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq telephoned Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday and requested him to withdraw his party's de-seating motion against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers. It was reported that the telephonic conversation between Altaf Hussain and the speaker lasted for around ten minutes and it remained inconclusive.
The speaker failed to convince Hussain to withdraw the motion as the latter demanded more time for the consultation with his party members. Sadiq said that withdrawing the motion would create a positive atmosphere of reconciliation, to which Altaf replied that the MQM has always upheld rule of law and the constitution. The JUI-F and MQM had submitted two similar motions seeking to disqualify the PTI legislators over their absence from Parliament for 40 consecutive days during their party's sit-in last year.