'PTI govt will not hinder peaceful protests'

Ajmal Wazir says JUI-F’s ‘plan B’ will fail just like its ‘plan A’

PESHAWAR: As the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) launched the second phase of its protest by blocking highways and main thoroughfares across the country, the provincial government on Thursday said that the protesters have nothing to fear if they adhere to the law.

Addressing a news briefing, Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister on Merged Areas Ajmal Wazir said that staging protests are the constitutional right of every citizen and that the government will not hinder any legitimate and peaceful protest or demonstration.

"The government will go strictly by the book,” Wazir said, adding that as it had done when the opposition parties marched onto the federal capital, the K-P government will not stop anyone from protesting in the province “provided that they remain peaceful and within the ambit of the Constitution."

Speaking to the media after a meeting on law and order, which had been chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday, Wazir added that said the committee had conducted a comprehensive review of the situation after the first phase of JUI-F’s sit-in in Islamabad ended and the second phase began.

In light of JUI-F’s plan-B, he said that the government has prepared its own plans as contingencies. Without elaborating on what these plans were, he said that they will come into effect if the protesters deviated or started to break the law.

Wazir reiterated that the government will not create hindrances for protesters if they continue to abide by their agreement.

He, however, warned the JUI-F leadership that there was no room in the Constitution for blocking roads and creating difficulties for people and added that protection of lives and properties of people was the responsibility of the government.

Referring to the plan-B of JUI-F, which includes blocking of main highways and key thoroughfares across the country, he said it will also prove futile.

“The JUI-F will achieve nothing by blocking roads as part of its so-called plan-B. Instead, it will only add to the sufferings of the common man,” Wazir said, adding that the government has honoured its word so far and it will continue to abide by their agreement.

But, he said, the government can not and will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands by resorting to unruly or troublesome political activities.

Regarding allegations of rigging in the 2018 elections, Wazir said that the government is ready to address any complaint of the opposition.

“Name the constituency and we will open up its election record [for inspection]. If they think there has been any rigging, then check and recheck the polling results,” the advisor offered.

He further asserted that the country’s economy has been improving owing to the tough policies implemented by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Moreover, he pointed out that opening the Kartarpur Corridor has helped fulfil the decades-long desire of the Sikh community.

Having already opened the Torkham border for around the clock operating, Wazir said that the government is now mulling replicating the move at other border crossings with Afghanistan including at Angoor Adda and the Ghulam Khan Checkpost.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2019.