Naqvi says Governor's Rule among options being weighed for K-P

Interior minister cites attacks in province, says authorities will leave 'no loophole' if PTI Sept 27 march goes ahead

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that the federal government was consulting the Law Ministry on possible legal options that could be taken for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), including imposing Governor's Rule in K-P, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make the final decision.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the matter had already been discussed within the government. "We have already told them that whatever legal option we have, we will consult the Law Ministry, and the prime minister will decide," he said, when asked whether Governor's Rule was being considered for K-P.

His comments followed a series of attacks in the province over the past week. Six Pakistan Army personnel were killed on Sunday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Hangu. A day earlier, a vehicle explosion near a mosque inside the Kohat Police Lines was followed by an armed assault; officials said at least 21 people, including 15 police personnel, were killed.

Funeral prayers for the soldiers killed in Hangu were held in Peshawar on Monday, attended by Naqvi, K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, the Peshawar Corps commander and senior civil and military officials.

The interior minister during the press conference also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for pressing ahead with its planned September 27 march on Islamabad against this backdrop. "Neither you nor any minister came to the funerals," he said, addressing PTI's leadership.

"The situation in K-P over the past 10 days is in front of everyone. There was a suicide attack on a mosque, and two or three other attacks besides. Our captains have been martyred, our soldiers have been martyred, our police personnel have been martyred — and we are preparing to march on one city."

Read: Tarar warns no violent group will be allowed to enter Islamabad

He said the protest would not benefit PTI and would instead damage the economy. "They will hurt themselves, and they will hurt the people."

Naqvi said PTI's leadership had repeatedly been told that political demands could not be won through such means, and urged the party to reconsider while it still could. "I would say they still have time," he said. "They should not go into a situation from which there is no way back."

On enforcement, the interior minister stated that the government would implement the Islamabad High Court's order on the march, which bars political parties from occupying roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas or public buildings, and directs provincial governments not to allow state resources to be used for the protest. "This time it will not happen that they come and the road is blocked for 10 or 20 days," Naqvi said.

"That possibility does not exist — I'm telling you this in advance," he stated. Naqvi added that authorities would also leave "no loophole" if the march went ahead, though he said he believed most PTI leaders did not favour it: "The majority of people in their leadership do not want to do the long march."

Read more: Long marches, strikes, sit-ins may cost Pakistan’s economy Rs120b a day: Aurangzeb

Asked whether rising fuel prices could add to public anger and boost support for the protest, Naqvi pointed to volatility in international oil markets. "Do you know where petrol prices are going in the world? Do you know the current situation?" he asked, adding that maintaining supply had been difficult amid global shortages.

"It does not suit anyone that we increase prices," he said. The interior minister added, "I think the prime minister is in great pain over this — that somehow we should bring it down. We are looking for other ways to bring petrol prices down."

Naqvi said he remained optimistic about the overall situation, citing support from traders, farmers and chambers of commerce for keeping economic activity running.

The interior minister's remarks came against a backdrop of mounting political tension in the days before PTI's planned September 27 march. Hours before his press conference, PTI alleged that two more sisters of party founder Imran Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan, along with several of their children, had been arrested by Punjab Police, a day after their sister Aleema Khan was detained under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and moved to Kot Lakhpat Jail for 30 days.

PTI's protest was not the only one the government was contending. Jamaat-e-Islami launched its own "Super Long March" from Karachi towards Islamabad on Sunday over its demand to withdraw the petroleum development levy, after talks with the government broke down, while Kissan Ittehad had separately announced a march seeking relief for farmers.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that "no violent group will be allowed to come to Islamabad," citing the IHC order against road closures. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also warned the same day that sustained protests and road closures could cost the economy roughly Rs120 billion a day, with the services sector bearing the largest share.