Qadri said the right to protest was protected by the Constitution, “but it is the government’s foremost responsibility to protect the life and property of the citizens”. He said the Metro Bus Service, schools, universities and offices will remain open on Monday. “If Imran Khan reads the Supreme Court verdict right, he will quit politics.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, Qadri said the government had shown restraint in the face of PTI’s incitement for violence in Multan and Faisalabad. He said the PTI had forced traders there to shutter down for the day and had resorted to violent activities.
Qadri requested Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers not to take the bait and resort to violence. He also requested the PTI not to break the law.
He said all political and trade organisations will use their means and influence against miscreants. He said PTI leaders demanded dialogue but then forced closure of bazaars and streets. “Imran Khan only wants to create anarchy,” he said.
In a country where labourers and daily-wage workers struggled to stave off starvation, Khan was trying to damage the economy, he said.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Rana Muhammad Arshad, parliamentary secretary for information and culture, said Lahore would always remain a bastion of the PML-N. He lauded the traders associations’ decision to open business as usual on Monday. He said the real face of those inciting violence in the name of protests had been exposed.
“Uninterrupted economic activity is essential for progress and prosperity. Imran Khan is only trying to destroy the economy. Who has given him the right to shut down business and block roads?” he said. Instead of cribbing about rigging, Khan should present evidence in this regard or wait for the next elections in 2018, Arshad said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2014.
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