Ministers lampoon Imran for capital mayhem

Federal ministers on Thursday fired a broadside against former prime minister Imran Khan for creating the scenes of mayhem witnessed in Islamabad and elsewhere during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march on Wednesday.

In their media talks, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the march was never meant to be a peaceful political caravan, adding that the people buried the politics of anarchy.

“Police seized a huge cache of weapons from residence of a PTI leader in Lahore ahead of the long march. The seizure of heavy arms and ammunition s evidence of a bloody march,” Rana Sana said in a statement. “The nation has seen from where the bullet that killed a policeman came.”

The federal minister said that the PTI general secretary’s house was a depot of ammunition and the discovery of arms from the homes of PTI officials was proof of the planning for a bloody march. “This incident proved that PTI’s march is not a peaceful political caravan but an armed struggle,” he said.

“Imran Niazi cannot be trusted after the martyrdom of a young policeman and recovery of heavy arms and ammunition from the houses of PTI officials,” he said. He warned the PTI chairman not to use the machinery and resources of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for inciting riots.

Rana Sanaullah also said that the federal government had decided to take legal action against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mehmood Khan, whom he accused of abusing “his position by participating in the PTI’s march” to attack the Federation.

“Law ministry’s opinion has been sought for the action against the K-P chief minister,” the minister said in a separate statement. “Action will also be taken against the federal officers stationed in K-P, who took part in the march, under the Estacode,” he added.

In her media talk, Aurangzeb strongly condemned the firing by PTI activists on the camp office of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Punjab Assembly Member (MPA) Bilal Tarar. “Those who ruined the national economy, are now trying to kill political opponents,” she remarked.

“Now the PTI has moved from ‘Gaali’ [expletive] to ‘Goli’ [bullet]. Imran Khan has taken the path of terrorism, facing humiliation at a chaotic march last night,” the minister. “The people of Pakistan had buried the politics of chaos and anarchy by those elements who committed economic terrorism.”

Talking to the media persons outside the Parliament House, the information minister Aurangzeb said Imran’s six-day ultimatum to the government for announcement of the fresh election’s reflected his grief over his failed politics. “Imran Khan would never come to Islamabad with a long march again.”

Read Imran trying to 'kill' political opponents: Marriyum

The minister emphasised that the government would announce the date of election in consultation with its allies and after completing its constitutional term. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is working tirelessly for the development of the country, economic revival and for providing relief to the masses, she added.

Aurangzeb said the people had rejected the politics of “chaos and anarchy” by staying away from the “bloody march” which was a “flop show”, adding that the masses saw on Wednesday the difference between the politics of development and degeneration.

“Imran Khan orchestrated the entire drama of long march to sabotage the government’s talks with the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. Even so, he disregarded the Supreme Court’s decision by asking his workers from the container to reach the D-Chowk in Islamabad.

The minister took a dig at Imran for abandoning his supporters to take a nap at his Bani Gala residence. “Imran abandoned his long march, when he saw it had managed to gather only a small number of people near the D-Chowk,” she said.

At a press conference, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that Imran presented scenes of “politics of chaos” on the streets of Islamabad. “The question is why Imran Niazi chose May 25. Yesterday, the nation expected a show of solidarity against the sentencing of [Kashmiri leader] Yasin Malik [in India].”

Iqbal accused the former prime minister of destroying the economy. “I ask the economic managers of the PTI why the national kitty is empty. His finance minister made no allocation in the fourth quarter. It never happened since the country nuclear blasts that zero-allocation was made in any quarter,” he said.

“The Gwadar port has been asking for money for dredging for the last four years but no money was given by the government. The depth of the Gwadar port is reduced to only 11 meters. Now only a small launch can dock at the port, he added.

The plane could not take off in the last four years because the captain was clumsy and incompetent. In four years, Imran Niazi did nothing except for crying and abusing opponents. Imran Niazi has been engaged in propaganda since day one.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)