PTI, Taliban two sides of same coin: Azma

LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Taliban are two sides of the same coin, both are enemies of Pakistan’s development and prosperity.

During a media briefing at the DGPR on Saturday, she said the PTI declared war against the state, and they would be treated as any enemy was treated in wartime. She accused the PTI of kidnapping its parliamentarians and holding them hostage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She called the PTI a fascist party that would go to any extent to fulfill its agenda. She emphasized that all political parties and media and judiciary must unite against these enemies of the state. Without eliminating this chaos, the country cannot move forward.

She noted that when the PTI was in power, no one would even answer their calls. Now that twelve heads of state are visiting Pakistan, the PTI is in distress. They alternately invite India’s foreign minister to their protests and threaten to shut down Islamabad. They cannot digest the country’s progress. She criticized the PTI leadership for standing against national development, stability, and economic relief.

She pointed out that the PTI information secretary announced attacks from secret locations while the party leaders worked from home, using children to take the brunt of police actions. If they have the courage, they should lead their so-called revolution themselves. She accused them of dramatizing harassment from agencies while hiding their people including Zain Qureshi. She said the prime minister was personally monitoring preparations for the SCO conference. She asserted that the PTI and anti-state elements were unhappy with this conference. The planned chaos, violence and destruction on the conference day prove that the PTI is against the country’s development and is a terrorist organization that has always worked against national interests. PTI members are under significant pressure, with their families longing to meet them. She claimed that they were even more advanced in manipulation than Indian Tamil films. She urged all patriotic citizens including their MPs to oppose the PTI’s anti-national agenda. She lamented that they wanted to hinder foreign investment and prevent people from accessing basic needs like Sasti roti, Kissan cards, free tractors, laptops, motorcycles, and free medicines.

She said the PTI’s province was under debt of billions and lacked even a plan to reduce bread prices. She called upon the PTI to refrain from creating chaos, emphasizing that everyone must unite against their anti-national agenda. She said the country could not endure any more chaos, violence, or destruction.