Sohail Shuja
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
- Information Minister says PTI leadership believes in the idea of confrontational politics
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that the ruling coalition will not hold any dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying that "talks are not held with terrorists," Aaj News reported.
Addressing a press conference, she said PTI's leadership believes in the idea of confrontational politics.
“Those who have Kalashnikovs, batons, and slingshots in their hands are not eligible for talks,” she said when asked about the government’s attempt to engage the PTI.
Earlier statements from PML-N's leaders suggest that the government may be considering taking action to ban PTI after the party's attacks on the police force in Lahore and Islamabad.
Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah said on Saturday the raid on Imran Khan's Zaman Park residence revealed "enough evidence" to warrant declaring the PTI a proscribed organization.
The minister said the government would consult with the legal team to determine if a process could be initiated in this regard. “It is a judicial process to declare any party proscribed. On this, I think our legal team and government will have to see what the possibilities for victory in this process are,” he said.
Rana Sanaullah said terrorists were hiding in Zaman Park when the raid was conducted. "Weapons, petrol bombs, etc have been recovered from the residence of Imran Khan which is enough evidence to file a reference against the PTI for being a militant organization,” he said.
Similarly, the Senior Vice President of PMLN Maryam Nawaz shared a video on her Twitter handle on Sunday, claiming that people who attacked police at Zaman park were not "political workers."
"They are trained terrorists and miscreants recruited from banned outfits that IK has always been supportive of," Maryam claimed.
"The evidence speaks for itself. The state must act before it’s too late," she added.
"I have no doubt that he (Imran) was launched to spread unrest in the country,” she said while addressing a news conference along with party leaders at the PML-N Secretariat
“The state will have to think of removing the tag of a political party from the PTI.”
Earlier this week, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan said he was “ready to talk to anyone” for Pakistan’s betterment and protect the country’s interests.
“I am ready to take every step in this direction,” he said in a Twitter post.
He warned that he was prepared to give any sacrifice for the protection of Pakistan’s “interests and democracy.”
Following Imran's statement, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry asked the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to assign a date and venue for a meeting of all political parties.
In a tweet, Fawad said that Federal Minister of Law Azam Nazeer Tarar makes statements on daily basis to sit together and resolve the issues.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also asked for talks,” he said. “Take this action further than statements as well and give a date and venue for the [political] parties to meet. Imran Khan has already favoured dialogues.”
Separately, Fawad again reiterated his request to the government “for assigning date and venue” while addressing media outside Lahore High Court.
In February 2023, the government decided to call an All Parties Conference following a blast at a mosque in Peshawar in January.
However, the conference was canceled.
Source: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40232273/govt-will-not-hold-dialogue-with-pti-leadership-marriyum
