Commenting on the episodes of violence and vandalism in protests sparked after the arrest of former Prime minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday termed his party “political terrorists” and asked how could talks be held with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reported Dawn.
At a rally — where he also decried bail granted to PTI chief Imran Khan in multiple cases — Bilawal said, “When we restore democracy, the judiciary becomes more political than needed. And when there is a dictatorship, they remain silent. And once again now, our judiciary is becoming more political than needed.” He urged the judiciary “not to meddle in politics” and said that be it the judiciary or establishment, “no institution will be allowed to become a party’s tiger force”.
This comes after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah earlier said that there is no other option but to impose a ban on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following three-day-long violent protests that erupted following the arrest of party chief Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case, reported Geo News.
“It’s important to have a stance against armed groups. There is no other option but to impose a ban on this party [PTI],” the interior minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
Sanaullah said the PTI chief’s only objective is to spread chaos and anarchy in the country.He also held the Khan-led party’s workers and supporters responsible for damaging public properties and storming military installations across the country during the countrywide violent protests, reported Geo News.
“The government will bring these ‘gangs’ to the book. They [miscreants] will be identified through CCTV footage cameras and rounded up one by one,” he added. Meanwhile, Pakistan Democratic Movement President Maulana Fazlur Rehman has urged the people, including lawyers, to reach outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad on Monday to register their “peaceful protest”.
In a video message, he said the caravans should reach Constitution Avenue by 9 am for the demonstration against the apex court. “The way the Supreme Court or its three-member bench, and under its influence the judges of the high court, have protected a criminal, we believe that we need to protect the country’s institutions and mend what is wrong in them