Government Decides to End Islamabad Protest ‘Spectacle’ Forever: Rana Sanaullah

Islamabad: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said the government has decided to permanently end what he described as the practice of staging protests and sit-ins in Islamabad, warning that no one would be allowed to enter the federal capital for a violent protest.

Speaking in a television programme, Rana Sanaullah said the government had adopted a clear policy that no individual or political party would be allowed to enter Islamabad for violent protests.

He warned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership that if it attempted to march towards the capital by force, the legal and political facilities extended to its leaders and workers after the May 9 incidents would be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, responding to reports about the suspension or withdrawal of the PTI’s long march, challenged the party to proceed with the march if it was prepared to do so.

Tarar also accused the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of facilitating militant groups and alleged that the provincial administration had failed to take adequate measures to address the security situation. These allegations were made by Tarar; the claims are disputed political assertions rather than independently established facts.

The federal minister further alleged that the PTI was acting as the “B-team” of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the “C-team” of the Afghan Taliban, and accused the KP government of allowing illegal mining and other activities to be used for terrorist financing.

Tarar also criticised KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, alleging that his conduct was more consistent with that of a TTP commander than a chief minister. The KP government and PTI have their own political positions on the allegations.

The statements come amid heightened tensions between the federal government and PTI over the party’s planned march towards Islamabad. PTI subsequently announced that its planned September 27 march had been postponed until October 4.