ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan Wednesday said that PTI’s long march was a flop show as only few thousand people were part of it contrary to the claims of party chairman Imran Khan of bringing two million people in Islamabad.
He also said that former prime minister Khan has committed contempt of court by calling upon his supporters to reach D-Chowk of Islamabad and he has a track record of disrespecting courts and the institutions.
Speaking at a press conference here alongside Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, he said only few hundred people could reach Islamabad by Wednesday evening against the claims of bringing a sea of people to the capital.
“This is beyond our expectations that the people have rejected the protest march.”
He said that PTI’s activity was only from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Khan was leading the march with around five to six thousand people only from the province. He added that the government was misled by the “lies” of Imran Khan and had made massive arrangements to deal with the hundreds of thousands of protestors.
“There is no place for this chaos and disorder in the country,” the interior minister said. He called it a crime to attack the federation in the form of a mob. He said that the government has made full arrangements to “thin out” the people coming from KP and the matter would be settled in the next few hours.
He apologized to the people on behalf of the government for causing them inconvenience. However, he said that the situation in Punjab has settled down.
“Only around five to six thousand people are a part of the march and they are in possession of weapons, teargas and cranes,” he said. “They are trying to take over the capital while using government protocol,” he added.
Say Imran committed contempt of court by asking workers to reach D-Chowk
The interior minister said that the Supreme Court has directed to form a negotiating team between the government and the PTI. He said that the PTI has formed a four-member committee under the supervision of Babar Awan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also appointed a team.
He said the PTI was seeking release of its arrested members. “Around 4,414 raids have been carried out… and about 1,700 people have been arrested,” he said.
He also said that as many as 250 people have left for their homes after signing an affidavit. The others have been detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, he added. He also said that few arrests have been made from Sindh and no one had been arrested in Balochistan, and KP.
In a separate statement, Sanaullah said the government will not tolerate terrorism in the guise of politics. He underlined that police seized a huge cache of weapons from the residence of the PTI leader in Lahore ahead of the long march. He said that the incident points towards a bloody march.
He warned that Chairman PTI Khan should not use the machinery and resources of the KP government for inciting riots in the country.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb that Imran Khan was leading the conspiracy of a civil war in Pakistan.
She said Imran was the only person responsible for the present situation in the country today.
The minister said that discovery of arms and ammunition from the house of PTI office bearers had exposed the real intentions of Imran Khan.
Taking a jibe on Imran, she said that weapons’ recovery from the residence of PTI activists was not jihad, rather it was subversion.
She said Imran wanted civil war in the country and he had plotted to seize Islamabad by force of arms.
Marriyum said the government would not allow anyone to create anarchy in the country with bombs, arms and ammunition.
The government is committed to ensure the safety of lives and property of the people, she remarked.
The minister said shooting, burning and siege were not part of political culture and there was need to draw a clear line between political activism and militancy.
He also said that former prime minister Khan has committed contempt of court by calling upon his supporters to reach D-Chowk of Islamabad and he has a track record of disrespecting courts and the institutions.
Speaking at a press conference here alongside Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, he said only few hundred people could reach Islamabad by Wednesday evening against the claims of bringing a sea of people to the capital.
“This is beyond our expectations that the people have rejected the protest march.”
He said that PTI’s activity was only from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Khan was leading the march with around five to six thousand people only from the province. He added that the government was misled by the “lies” of Imran Khan and had made massive arrangements to deal with the hundreds of thousands of protestors.
“There is no place for this chaos and disorder in the country,” the interior minister said. He called it a crime to attack the federation in the form of a mob. He said that the government has made full arrangements to “thin out” the people coming from KP and the matter would be settled in the next few hours.
He apologized to the people on behalf of the government for causing them inconvenience. However, he said that the situation in Punjab has settled down.
“Only around five to six thousand people are a part of the march and they are in possession of weapons, teargas and cranes,” he said. “They are trying to take over the capital while using government protocol,” he added.
Say Imran committed contempt of court by asking workers to reach D-Chowk
The interior minister said that the Supreme Court has directed to form a negotiating team between the government and the PTI. He said that the PTI has formed a four-member committee under the supervision of Babar Awan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also appointed a team.
He said the PTI was seeking release of its arrested members. “Around 4,414 raids have been carried out… and about 1,700 people have been arrested,” he said.
He also said that as many as 250 people have left for their homes after signing an affidavit. The others have been detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, he added. He also said that few arrests have been made from Sindh and no one had been arrested in Balochistan, and KP.
In a separate statement, Sanaullah said the government will not tolerate terrorism in the guise of politics. He underlined that police seized a huge cache of weapons from the residence of the PTI leader in Lahore ahead of the long march. He said that the incident points towards a bloody march.
He warned that Chairman PTI Khan should not use the machinery and resources of the KP government for inciting riots in the country.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb that Imran Khan was leading the conspiracy of a civil war in Pakistan.
She said Imran was the only person responsible for the present situation in the country today.
The minister said that discovery of arms and ammunition from the house of PTI office bearers had exposed the real intentions of Imran Khan.
Taking a jibe on Imran, she said that weapons’ recovery from the residence of PTI activists was not jihad, rather it was subversion.
She said Imran wanted civil war in the country and he had plotted to seize Islamabad by force of arms.
Marriyum said the government would not allow anyone to create anarchy in the country with bombs, arms and ammunition.
The government is committed to ensure the safety of lives and property of the people, she remarked.
The minister said shooting, burning and siege were not part of political culture and there was need to draw a clear line between political activism and militancy.
