P.M. Sharif address media at PKLI in Lahore. Photo courtesy PID
Accusing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan of wanting a civil war in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday warned that the public will not allow the ousted prime minister to succeed at his aims.
“Imran Niazi wants to initiate a civil war in the country,” he alleged during a press conference at Lahore’s Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute. “But he is mistaken. The nation will never forgive him and will hold him by the collar,” he said of the PTI’s planned long march on the federal capital later this week. To a follow-up question on whether the government would deploy the armed forces to prevent the long march, he said that any decision in this regard would be taken as and when necessary.
Accusing the PTI chairman of focusing solely on political victimization during his tenure as prime minister, Sharif regretted that Khan had not had any time to invest in building hospitals, roads, or work towards the prosperity of the nation. He said that thousands of people had lost their means of employment even as Khan had failed to deliver on his promise to provide 10 million new jobs.
“Imran Niazi had nothing to do except hurl abuses at his opponents,” he said. “Khan is a cold-hearted man. The kind of language he uses embarrasses everyone,” he said of the ousted prime minister’s commentary about Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz. “This man destroyed the moral values of society,” he added.
Coalition to decide
In a separate media interaction in Bahawalpur, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the government and its allies would jointly decide whether the PTI’s long march would be allowed to enter Islamabad. “If the coalition goes for action, we will not allow protesters to even come out of their homes,” he claimed.
Later, speaking with private broadcaster Geo News, he rubbished the PTI leadership’s promises to remain peaceful and alleged he expected them to come with an intent to provoke anarchy. Emphasizing that he did not trust anything Imran Khan says, he noted that the former prime minister had a history of speaking “lies and taking U-turns.”
Meanwhile, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb reiterated that the decision to proceed toward general elections rested solely with the coalition government. “You no longer have any authority over elections,” she said. Similarly, PMLN’s Maryam Nawaz questioned why Khan started “attacking” the country whenever it had a chance for prosperity. “Now is the time to stand firm against this enemy of Pakistan,” she said.
In a statement, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz described the announcement of the PTI’s march as “conspiracy” against Pakistan. “Imran Khan cannot hold the whole nation hostage for the sake of his ego,” he said. “Negative attitudes in politics are detrimental to the stability of the country. Characters working against national interests must be stopped by the force of unity,” he added.
Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sharjeel Memon said the government would not be “pressured” by the long march to proceed toward early elections. He accused the PTI of wanting to spread “chaos and instability” and hold the government hostage.
No significance
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, addressing a gathering in Peshawar, said PTI’s long march held no significance and the people would not support agitation. Claiming that the so-called march had been unnecessarily hyped by the media, he said the PTI supporters that reach Islamabad would just be wasting their time. “I request media not to give importance to the march,” he said, adding that he was “confident” the PTI would not break the record of the JUIF’s long march of October 2019.
Stressing that the coalition government would complete its constitutional tenure, he accused the ousted PTI-led regime of bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy through its flawed economic and political policies. Emphasizing that the “mess” created during the last four years could not be removed within one month, he said any incumbent government had to bear the consequences of its predecessor.