Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that the ruling coalition will not hold any dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying “there is no negotiation with terrorists.” Aaj News reported.
Addressing a press conference, she said that the PTI leadership believes in the idea of confrontational politics.
“Those who have Kalashnikovs, batons and slingshots in their hands are not eligible for talks,” she said when asked about the government’s attempt to engage the PTI.
Earlier statements by PML-N leaders suggest that the government may consider taking steps to ban the PTI following the party’s attacks on the police force in Lahore and Islamabad.
Enough evidence to declare PTI banned organisation: Rana Sana
Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah said on Saturday that the raid on Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence revealed “enough evidence” to warrant declaring the PTI a banned organisation.
The minister said the government would consult with the legal team to determine whether a process could be initiated in this regard. “It is a legal process to declare any party prohibited. In this area, I think our legal team and government will have to see what the possibilities of victory in this process are,” he said.
Rana Sanaullah said terrorists were hiding in Zaman Park when the raid was carried out. “Weapons, petrol bombs etc have been recovered from Imran Khan’s residence which is enough evidence to file a reference against PTI for being a militant organisation,” he said.
Maryam claims that trained terrorists attacked police in Lahore
Similarly, Senior Vice President of PMLN Maryam Nawaz shared a video on her Twitter handle on Sunday and claimed that people who attacked the police in Zaman Park were not “political workers”.
“They are trained terrorists and miscreants recruited from banned outfits which IK has always supported,” claimed Maryam.
“The evidence speaks for itself. The state must act before it is too late,” she added.
“I have no doubt that he (Imran) was launched to spread unrest in the country,” she said while addressing a press conference along with party leaders at the PML-N Secretariat
“The state will have to think about removing the tag of a political party from PTI.”
Imran says ready for talks
Earlier this week, former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan said he was “ready to talk to anyone” for Pakistan’s betterment and protect its interests.
“I am ready to take any step in this direction,” he said in a Twitter post.
He warned that he was prepared to make any sacrifice for the protection of Pakistan’s “interests and democracy.”
Fawad asks the government to allocate date and place for talks
After Imran’s statement, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry asked the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to allocate a date and venue for all political parties.
In a tweet, Fawad said that Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar is making statements on a daily basis to sit together and resolve the issues.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also asked for talks,” he said. “Also take this action beyond statements and give a date and a place for the (political) parties to meet. Imran Khan has already advocated dialogues.”
Separately, Fawad again reiterated his request to the government “to allot date and venue” while addressing media outside the Lahore High Court.
In February 2023, the government decided to call an all-party conference following an explosion in a mosque in Peshawar in January.
However, the conference was cancelled.