Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Thursday said the government’s priority was to resolve the issue with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) through dialogue and hoped that better sense would prevail before the party’s planned march on Sep 27.
The PTI last month announced a September 27 march in Islamabad to demand the release of Imran Khan, with caravans from across the country expected to converge on the federal capital. The party also planned protests, shutdowns and demonstrations along major highways in cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad and Quetta.
Talking to a private television programme, Capital Talk, while recalling the previous PTI protest, the minister admitted that it had not been managed properly last time but said things would be different this time.
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“The government believes in minimum use of power, but one thing is very clear this time … Islamabad is very far away in this manner,” Talal said.
He said the protesters would be treated respectfully, escorted and sent back in the same manner, but warned that if they wanted to come to turn Islamabad into “Somnath”, they would neither be allowed to come nor be able to take anything back.
“The route that can be opened through talks cannot be opened through a march,” he said.
Responding to a question, Talal said there was a difference between the PTI and PML-N long marches, saying the PTI believed that the state would be forced to move on the back foot and did not want to move through political dialogue or the political process.
“If they wanted to move forward, they would never have resigned from the assemblies; neither would May 9 or any such incident have happened. Even now, how are they talking about Somnath?” he said.
He argued that this was the reason why the government was taking all these preventive measures.
The minister said the government’s priority was to resolve the issue without any long march, as this would serve neither the country, their party nor even their leadership.
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Asked whether the issue could be resolved through negotiations and dialogue, the minister replied in the affirmative and said that ask the PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar what constitutional right was being denied to the party, describing him as “a very fair man”.
“Ask the K-P chief minister why you are coming and what you want,” he said, adding that the PTI’s demands had nothing to do with the issues of ordinary people but concerned an issue involving a leader.
He warned that no one could dictate terms to the state.
“One thing has to be ended in this country, whether it is TLP or PTI: you cannot dictate terms to the state,” he said, adding that this would not happen and that they would not meet the PTI founder through such means.
Talal also alleged that the PTI was influenced by the Joint Action Committee in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and believed in creating the same environment and adopting the same strategy.
He said the closure of roads would eventually affect ordinary people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“All stakeholders of the state are very clear that no nonsense, whether it is from TLP or anyone else, can be allowed. It cannot happen that someone brings 25,000 to 50,000 people to the state, to Islamabad, and says that because I want this, I will get it done before I leave. This will not happen,” he said.
The minister categorically denied that roads had been closed, saying the containers had only been brought to the capital to prevent any situation that could endanger people’s lives and property.
“There is no doubt that hundreds of containers are currently present in Islamabad, but no road has so far been closed,” he said.
He said some routes were currently closed, including the motorway, GT Road and some roads on the northern side, and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved without any confrontation.
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“If even a single member of the security forces or a protester is killed, it is Pakistanis who will suffer. We do not want a situation where we are face to face, tear gas is being used,” Talal said, adding that “the other side is always very heavily armed” and referring to them as “non-political people”.
Asked when the containers would be removed, the minister said he was hopeful that they would not have to be used.
“We should remain positive. We hope that before the 27th, within the first 24 to 48 hours, common sense will prevail,” he concluded.
