Abbasi opposed to labelling rivals as traitors

Striking a mellow note, amid a tense political climate, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said that his party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), did not want to be involved in labelling political rivals as traitors, therefore, they were not interested in filing a treason case against ousted premier Imran Khan, who he said had “violated the constitution” along with key aides.

Speaking to a private news channel, the senior party leader commented on the matter that was discussed in a meeting of the federal cabinet’s special committee a day ago. He said that while arrests in “fake cases” happened during the PTI’s term, they did not want to be involved in these matters as they had to focus on the economy instead.

On the same note, he justified the hike in fuel prices, saying that no country could afford to sell petrol below the purchase price. He also remarked that the matter was about the future of the country and his party prioritises the country’s interests.

He further said that while it was easy for them to watch the economic collapse of the country from the sidelines while Imran was in power, but they took a decision and now they want to fulfil the task.

Regarding the lifeline of the coalition government as the PTI mounts pressure for early polls, he said that this was not the time for politics as Pakistan was facing “unusual circumstances”.

In a separate television interview, he also revealed that he had advised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to initiate dialogue for political consensus to resolve lingering matters.