LAHORE/ KOHAT – Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday said the government will implement Islamabad High Court’s verdict in letter and spirit regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march planned for September 27.
Addressing a news conference in Lahore, he said that PTI’s long march will only cause losses for the country’s economy and public. Mohsin Naqvi said that the majority of PTI leaders do not want to take part in the long march.
Naqvi expressed concern over the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and urged political leaders to avoid actions that could create further difficulties for the country and its people. Speaking on the issue of KP, the minister said recent attacks had claimed the lives of security personnel, while plans for a long march were being discussed despite the prevailing circumstances.
Mohsin Naqvi said he had attended funerals in Peshawar at around 1:00 am the previous night. Referring to political differences, he said he had never seen a situation where KP government representatives or ministers did not attend the funerals of those who had lost their lives in the line of duty. He stated that the martyrs did not belong to any political group and were the martyrs of Pakistan. He questioned why neither the leadership nor ministers from the provincial government attended the funerals.
Mohsin Naqvi said the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last 10 days was before everyone.
He noted that a suicide attack had taken place at a mosque and that two to three other attacks had also occurred during the same period. He said a Captain, soldiers and police personnel had embraced martyrdom in these incidents.
The minister said that while the province was facing security challenges and mourning the loss of its personnel, preparations were being made to move towards Islamabad. He maintained that such a course of action would not bring any benefit. He warned it would affect the country’s economy, impact those organising the activity and also affect ordinary people.
Naqvi said the federal government had repeatedly conveyed its position to the concerned leadership during meetings held in Islamabad. He stated that they had been told several times that such activities could not achieve any objective.
He said there was still time for the leadership to reconsider its approach. He urged them not to place themselves in a situation from which there would be no way forward. “They should not go into a situation, a dead-end street where there is no way back,” Naqvi said at a press conference.
“If they do go for a long march, then the Islamabad High Court’s order is in place and the government will have to act on it.”
The interior minister further stated that if a long march was launched, the government would act in accordance with the discussions already held on the matter. He said there would be no room for any loophole in the implementation process. Naqvi added that, in his view, a majority of the party’s leadership did not want a long march. However, if such a move was undertaken under any circumstances, the Islamabad High Court’s orders were already in place.
Naqvi said the government would take measures “once and for all” to prevent a repeat of such situations. “This time, it will not happen that they [protesters] come and the country remains closed for 10 or 20 days,” he said.
He said the government would ensure implementation of the court’s directions in letter and spirit. He added that carrying out those orders was the government’s responsibility and there would be no shortcoming in fulfilling that duty.
Concluding his remarks, Mohsin Naqvi urged political leaders to move beyond political considerations and avoid any approach that could cause difficulties for themselves or their supporters.
Also, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday said maintaining law and order in Islamabad was the government’s prime responsibility, and no violent group or horde would be allowed to enter the federal capital and disrupt its peace and routine business.
Talking to reporters after visiting the residences and hospitals of those injured in the blasts at the old police lines in Kohat, the federal minister said the government and Islamabad administration were responsible for maintaining public order and ensuring that no disruption took place during the planned protests.
He questioned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) claim of holding peaceful protests, referring to tragic incidents involving attacks on Rangers personnel, police, Parliament House, Pakistan Television (PTV), Metro buses and other state installations during previous PTI protests in Islamabad.
The minister reiterated that no violent group or horde would be allowed to take the law into its own hands, disrupt peace or hamper routine business activities in Islamabad.
He said the country could face economic losses of Rs120 billion per day if business and trade activities were disrupted due to protests, sit-ins and long marches.
Attahullah Tarar said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had invited the PTI leadership for dialogue on several occasions, but, he added, the party’s leaders had not reciprocated positively.
The minister also questioned whether the additional Rs 300 billion fund provided to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government under the National Finance Commission (NFC) for strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), equipping police with latest weapons and providing armoured vehicles had been properly utilized.
He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wanted to know how the substantial funds provided by the federal government under the NFC to combat terrorism had been spent.
Attaullah Tarar claimed that despite the PTI’s 12 years and six months in power in the province, it had failed to address the issues of people and had not brought about the required development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the education system had not been adequately improved and that no sufficient new hospitals had been constructed during the PTI’s tenure, which, he claimed, had added to the difficulties faced by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The minister said it was the PML-N government that constructed the state-of-the-art Kohat Tunnel and the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, significantly reducing travel distances between Islamabad, Peshawar and Kohat.
He further claimed that the people were aware of those benefiting from mining, timber and tobacco contracts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Tarar said the province’s mountains were being denuded in the name of mining exploration and warned that those involved in awarding illegal mining contracts would face inquiries and strict accountability.
He said the PTI’s so-called development schemes were largely confined to social media and suggested that the chief minister should instead focus on improving law and order and development in the province instead of agitation marches.
