'Reboot' through K-P under consideration, says Vawda

ISLAMABAD:

Senator Faisal Vawda said on Tuesday that a "reboot or restart" option through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was under consideration and declared that the political show of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) was over now.

Addressing a press conference, Vawda said K-P's deteriorating law and order situation had made the imposition of an emergency inevitable. The decision to impose an emergency in the province had been taken in the public interest, he added.

"What you are seeing today, I told you all about this a year ago," he said, adding that K-P had been governed for 13 years by people with a particular mindset. He claimed that 7,500 people, including Army personnel and police officers, had embraced martyrdom, stressing that the province's security situation required decisive action.

"There is no room for failure," he said, adding that Governor Faisal Karim Kundi would be questioned following the establishment of a new setup in K-P. "If they fail, others will come," he said. He predicted that results in the province would begin to become visible within 60 days.

The senator issued a stern warning to those who disrespected Pakistan's flag. "We will destroy the generations of those who do not raise Pakistan's flag. Those who spoke against a martyr will have their tongues ripped out," he said.

Questioning the slogan that Pakistan could not survive without a particular leader, Vawda said the country would endure regardless of individuals. He argued that people could no longer be expected to adopt a leader's slogans and follow blindly.

Vawda said Pakistan's ability to defeat an enemy 10 times its size demonstrated that the country could accomplish anything. He added that the public would judge political leaders by their performance rather than their slogans. He expressed the hope that Governor Kundi would deliver results.

Turning to the PTI, Vawda claimed that members of the party's cabinet had been present with him in Islamabad and were themselves embroiled in disputes over smuggled vehicles. He said several matters would be brought to the attention of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and President Asif Ali Zardari, adding that evidence would be presented only to them.

He stressed that the "reboot or restart" through K-P was being mulled over. Vawda said the nation must recognise Field Marshal Asim Munir's achievements and honour the sacrifices of martyrs. He urged people to openly support the field marshal.