Allowing Protest Groups After May 9 Incident Is Dangerous, Says Ahsan Iqbal

Lahore: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has stated that allowing protest groups associated with the May 9 events to demonstrate is risky and dangerous. Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Secretariat in Model Town, Lahore, Iqbal emphasized that the government is currently facing a critical situation, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) aims to create chaos in the country and derail efforts for economic recovery. He added that the government had always shown leniency towards the PTI, but this had led to incidents like the one on May 9.
Iqbal further said that expecting any positive outcome from this group after May 9 is a risky proposition. He expressed hope that PTI’s current protest would fail and that normalcy would be restored. On the issue of PTI’s leader Imran Khan, Iqbal clarified that his arrest was not the responsibility of the government, and any demands for his release would not be entertained as his cases are still in the courts.
He also accused PTI’s leadership of seeking assistance from the military, noting that Imran Khan, who rose to power in 2014 with the help of the establishment, is once again looking to the military for support. Iqbal questioned the legitimacy of this “freedom struggle” and criticized the alliance between PTI and the establishment during the 2018 elections.
Imran Khan, the founder of PTI, has called for a march towards Islamabad and a protest at D-Chowk today. In anticipation of the protest, authorities have sealed motorways, highways, and routes leading to Islamabad, including blocking entry points to the capital and digging up parts of Murree Road. Police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) forces have been deployed at key points between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
Ahead of the protest, Islamabad police have claimed to arrest over 300 PTI workers attempting to reach the capital, while similar arrests are being made in Rawalpindi as well.