Boasting Will Achieve Nothing, PTI Should Not Harm Itself or Its People: Mohsin Naqvi
LAHORE: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has advised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against proceeding with its proposed long march towards Islamabad, warning that any attempt to enter the federal capital in violation of the law would face strict consequences.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the government would implement the Islamabad High Court’s orders in letter and spirit and would take steps to prevent the capital from being shut down through protests.
“You cannot achieve anything through such theatrics,” Naqvi said, adding that anyone attempting to storm Islamabad would face serious consequences. He advised PTI not to enter a “dead end” from which there would be no way back.
Commenting on the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the interior minister said the situation was being witnessed across the country. He criticized the provincial government for what he described as indifference towards the sacrifices of security personnel, saying that neither the chief minister nor provincial ministers or lawmakers had attended the funerals of martyrs.
Naqvi said political differences should not reach a point where leaders distance themselves from the funerals of those who sacrificed their lives for the country. “These martyrs do not belong to one person or one group; they are martyrs of the entire Pakistan,” he said.
Referring to PTI’s proposed September 27 march, the interior minister said claims about marching on Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not help achieve political demands. He warned that such marches and sit-ins could cause losses to the country, the economy and the protesters themselves.
Naqvi also claimed that a majority of PTI’s central leadership was not in favour of the proposed long march and that some of those calling for the march were themselves unclear about their demands.
He said the government had already fulfilled the demand for a hospital medical examination of PTI founder Imran Khan, adding that Khan had undergone a medical check-up at a hospital during the night.
The interior minister said the government would conduct its affairs according to the Constitution and law and would not allow Islamabad to be shut down. He added that the federal capital could not repeatedly bear the disruption caused by prolonged protests and sit-ins.
