PTI rally caused Rs4b losses: Pervaiz Rashid

Ruling party seems in no mood to listen to protesters’ cries.

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: Imran Khan’s rally in Lahore caused losses worth Rs4 billion while disturbing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, alleged Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid on Saturday.

Speaking to the media at the Chief Minister Office in Model Town, the federal minister said the PTI chairman should have held the procession at the Minar-e-Pakistan ground instead to spare inconvenience to the people.



“Three politicians in the country have come together on one point. Their aim is to cause inconvenience to people,” alleged Pervaiz while referring to Imran, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri and Awami Muslim League’s (AML) Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who all staged simultaneous protest movements on Saturday.

He said millions of rupees were spent on providing security to the PTI and PAT rallies in Lahore and Rawalpindi, respectively. Metro Bus in Rawalpindi suffered a loss of Rs1 million while Metro Bus Lahore suffered a loss of Rs500,000.



“If Imran is serious about accountability, he should play a role in parliament for the approval of the accountability bill,” the minister said while referring to the inquiries act tabled by the ruling party in the National Assembly a day earlier.

“On one hand, Imran files references in the election commission and on the other, he takes to the streets that show his lack of trust in institutions,” Pervaiz said, adding the PTI chief wanted to come into power through the backdoor, which had been closed forever in Pakistan.

“Imran doesn’t support change through vote but we do. We will accept every decision of the people of Pakistan in the general elections of 2018,” he added, mocking the PTI for attracting as many people in the rally as present on the container.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also criticised the opposition parties for “staging purposeless protests”, terming them enemies of the people. He expressed grief over the reported death of a newborn in Shahdara due to the protest rally.

No compromise

The reactions of the ruling party leaders suggest the PML-N is in no mood to offer an olive branch to the protesting parties.



The top leadership is unanimous on staying firm on the PML-N’s toughened stance by not excepting the any demands on the inquiry of the Panamagate scandal or any other issue.

“Confrontation begets confrontation,” a PML-N senator said while talking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity. “You cannot be dictated into conceding to anyone’s terms if you are at the winning end,” he summed up the government’s reported policy towards opposition.

The source said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the matter in detail with his cabinet confidantes, including Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif and Chaudhry Nisar, before deciding on an inflexible stance towards the opposition. Notes have also been exchanged with the PML-N Punjab chapter led by CM Shahbaz, who is said to have endorsed the party’s central leadership’s decision.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah also confirmed the party’s policy vis-à-vis opposition. “We have had enough of these nonsensical antics. Enough is enough,” he said while talking with The Express Tribune. “So many lives were lost in the Mardan terrorist attack and Imran should concentrate on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where his party runs the government instead of wasting public’s time outside K-P,” he said.

The minister said the PML-N would not invite or talk with any protesting party. “We have always been flexible and open to dialogue but this does not mean we can be blackmailed or coerced into it,” he added. “Cribbing and crying will not help. Imran should better wait for the 2018 elections, which he is bound to lose embarrassingly.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2016.