'Banning PTI will be a big mistake,' warns jailed Qureshi

LAHORE: PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday warned against “crushing” and banning the Imran Khan-founded party.

His remarks came amid rising speculations about governor rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a ban on the former ruling party.

During an informal interaction with journalists at an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, Qureshi said: “Crushing the PTI is not appropriate for the country’s politics.”

The PTI senior leader , who is currently incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, said that imposition of governor rule in KP would be tantamount to spreading hatred in the province.

His statement came after speculation started circulating on social and local media that the federal cabinet, according to PM’s aide Rana Sanaullah, discussed the option of imposing governor rule in KP in the aftermath of the party’s protest in the federal capital.

However, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has dispelled the speculations, saying that the Centre is not planning to impose a governor rule in KP.

Responding to a question, Qureshi warned: “Banning PTI will be a big mistake.”

He thanked PPP, JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai for opposing the governor rule in KP.

A day earlier, the JUI-F chief said that governor rule was not a solution, adding: “I will not support governor rule in KP and Balochistan even though it is constitutionally permissible.”

Surprisingly, the PPP, an ally of the ruling PML-N, also opposed the idea of proscribing the PTI. A day earlier, PPP Punjab chapter General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza said: “We are not in favour of banning the PTI or sidelining it. Rather, the government should take the initiative to bring the PTI into the national mainstream.”

To another query, the PTI leader said that all the political parties were staging protests over the water issue.

It is pertinent to mention here that the ruling and opposition parties in Sindh unanimously rejected the proposal to dig six more canals from the Indus River. On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the PPP would not compromise on the province’s water at any cost.

“Not a single drop of Sindh’s water will be given to anyone. We will neither surrender our rights nor claim anyone else’s.”

Qureshi also pleaded with the court to arrange his meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.

Last week, the PTI senior leader, in a sarcastic remark, urged the party’s "free" leadership to consider visiting him at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, "if they can find the time".