Sana opposes ban on any political party

Minister says PML-N vote bank is intact but PTI’s voters will be divided among others

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that no political party, including the PTI, should be banned because banning a political party never produced the desired results in the past.

Speaking in Express News programme Kal Tak, the minister warned that general elections should be held on their scheduled time; otherwise, the country’s economy would deteriorate.

“No political party, including the Tehreek-e-Insaf, should be banned. Political parties were banned in the past but nothing was achieved from the ban,” the minister stated. However, he stressed that those involved in May 9 violence must he held accountable.

“Those who rebelled against the state on May 9 must be punished,” he said. “There is irrefutable evidence of [PTI leader] Yasmin Rashid's involvement in the attack on Jinnah House, but the courts are giving her unprecedented relief,” he said in reply to a question.

The minister emphasised that timely elections were inevitable to resolve the country's economic and political issues. “If elections are not held on time, the economy will deteriorate further in six months,” he said.

Read more: PTI stalwarts Umar, Qaiser say 'not in touch' with Tareen

At the same time, however, the minister stressed that elections should be held in such a way that their results were acceptable to all. He added that the parties had reservations to results of the elections in 2018 but “we adopted the path of reconciliation”.

Asked about the future of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Sanaullah, who is a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), stressed that it was not an electoral alliance.

“All parties in the PDM will field their candidates separately in the coming elections,” he said. He predicted that PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif commanded a big vote bank in Punjab, which would not go to anyone else.

“Our opposition vote belonged to the PTI, which will now be divided into two or three parts. It will come to PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party], [former PTI leader] Jahangir Tareen and the PML-N,” he added.

Sanaullah believed that Tareen’s move to gather together the PTI deserters would not harm the PML-N. In Punjab, he added, previously it was the PML-N versus the PTI but after the May 9 rioting, the situation had changed.

Taking about the PML-N’s election campaign strategy, the minister stated that they had requested Nawaz Sharif, who is in London since November 2019 owing to health reasons, to return and lead the campaign.

He also called for the former prime minister to get protective bail. “On the party’s request, Nawaz Sharif promised that he will lead the party during the election campaign,” he added.

(WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK)