ISLAMABAD – Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Wednesday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could not distance itself from a “political worker” who attacked security forces, blaming that the incident was the result of hatred that the opposition party perpetuated in the minds of youth.
The worker he referred to was identified as Muhammad Hussain, who on Tuesday allegedly opened fire on security forces on the Mall Road in Rawalpindi, injuring an official before he was shot dead in retaliatory firing, according to police. The PTI had rejected the allegations after the Rawalpindi Police in a statement said that the suspect belonged to a “specific political party”. Addressing a press conference here, the minister of state said the incident should not be seen in isolation. He said the PTI leadership had been warned for the past many years to avoid politics of “hatred, anarchy and violence” as this polluted the minds of youth. “The incident is an example of this (type of politics)”.
Chaudhry said the PTI couldn’t absolve itself of the receptibility by distancing itself from the alleged shooter. “Who trained these political workers, who provided them with an ideology,” he questioned. He said the claim of the party of former prime minister Imran Khan was not acceptable that either it was an individual act or it was carried out by a worker who was mentally unstable. He also questioned why the suspect, now being described as mentally unstable, had previously been allowed to participate in party activities and protests.
He underlined why did not the deceased attack his family or any leader of his party or cause harm to himself. Answering in the same breath, he said the suspect attacked security forces—the institution against which the party had incited him. “Not only he fired straight with a planning and without any fear but also he was carrying the flag of your party,” he said while referring to the PTI. The minister of state noted that all this started with May 9 riots and November 26 protest, alleging that some public and internal speeches and discussions of PTI leadership and their social media posts instilled hatred and anarchy in the minds of youth. “You did not spare the statues of martyrs,” he said, adding that the incident was the result of this training and atmosphere provided by the PTI.
He said that not only the PTI leadership but only some YouTubers, social media influencers and opinion makers living abroad were responsible for this incident. “Their only objective is to get more views, earn more money and play with the fire,” he said. Chaudhry warned that the incident indicated what might happen during the upcoming September 27 long march announced by the opposition party. He said the authorities had withheld some evidence because “fair and free investigation” was being conducted regardless of the suspect’s political affiliation He said political parties should refrain from exploiting young people who might be susceptible to emotional manipulation and political influence.
He said that the PTI was becoming irrelevant due to its politics of hatred. He cited the dissolution of assemblies, resignations, the May 9 violence and November 26 protest in Islamabad as examples of what he said that these incidents had contributed to the party being “cut to size”. “Politic should be on the basis of work and performance.”
The minister of state warned, “The state and state institutions will not allow anyone to destabilize Pakistan by attacking any institution”. He added that the government would not allow political disorder at a time when the country had gained political stability and was witnessing signs of economic recovery.
