PML-N leaders say they have seen no person more shameless than Imran

ISLAMABAD: Senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday said that they had not seen a more shameless man than Imran Khan and those arrested in Islamabad were planning “invasion” of Islamabad.

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Thursday said the government would protect the citizens’ right to continue living a peaceful life without any hindrance. Talking to a private television, he said nobody could be allowed to usurp the democratic rights of other citizens.

He said for 1,000 days, or for three-and-a-half years, Imran Khan exercised all his democratic and legal rights and held meetings and rallies every day and no hurdle was put in his way.“Today, the difference is that Imran Khan has decided to adopt illegal ways by assaulting the capital and trying to halt the government from working and stop citizens from going about their daily routine and from sending their kids to school.”

He said according to Section 144, the PTI gathering in Islamabad was illegal and they were assembled to plan disruption of life of public.He said Imran Khan had stated that he did not believe in court and had decided to use force and the PTI gathering in Islamabad was a warm-up exercise to disrupt the lives of citizens.

There were provisions in the law of Pakistan which allowed the government to fulfill its responsibility of protecting people from disruptions. “We are responsible for the citizens of Islamabad.”

Pervaiz Rashid said the PML-N came into government in 2013, and if it had allowed the violation of law then terrorism would have continued in the country and the situation in Karachi would have worsened.

He said if violent behaviour was allowed, then no government could function in Pakistan, and change in government would be decided through invasion as was done by Nader Shah in Delhi.“It is our responsibility to save the country from chaos. The state fulfilled its obligation and it will continue to do so.”

All the democratic, constitutional and legal avenues were available to people to express their views, the minister added.He said in 2014, Imran Khan breached an agreement with the administration and broke the promise that they would not move ahead of the designated place of sit-in.

But the PTI went ahead and attacked parliament and Pakistan Television, he recalled. “This time we will not believe in what they are saying as they did not fulfil their promises made in the past.” He said Islamabad Police had the ability to protect Islamabad.

Daniyal Aziz said the youth convention of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was planning to lockdown the federal capital. Talking to a TV programme, he said the PTI wants to shut down the federal capital despite the orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

“We were well aware of the proceedings of the PTI’s youth convention in which leaders were assigning duties to workers for November 2,” he said. He said prompt action had been taken by the Islamabad Police in accordance with the Article 144. He said the PTI was using women as a human shield to achieve their nefarious designs.

Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said the sit-in by the PTI would damage the interests of Pakistan and undermine the CPEC project.

Addressing a press conference, he said Imran Khan was trying to weaken democracy. The country’s economy had taken off and there was a need to strengthen democracy and keep political stability for further economic progress, he added.

Saad Rafique said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made the defence of Pakistan stronger by carrying out nuclear explosions. He said there was a history of deep divisions between the Pakistan People’s Party and PML-N but they had learned not to cross “the red lines in a democracy”. He blamed the PTI chief for crossing all moral limits and disrespecting state institutions.

The PTI staged a sit-in in 2014, during which it leveled baseless allegations of electoral rigging. Its workers besieged state buildings, and attacked the Parliament House and the Prime Minister’s House, he recalled.

During that agitation, he said, the PTI violated the promises made with the Islamabad administration and entered the Red Zone and violated the sanctity of state buildings.

Saad Rafique said Imran Khan used abusive language against all institutions, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Election Commission of Pakistan, Supreme Court and National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Imran Khan’s behaviour showed that he wanted absolute powers by becoming the prime minister, chief justice and armed forces chief at the same time. Saad said it was the responsibility of the government to protect the rights of five million residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Nobody should be mistaken about the government’s commitment to protecting life and property of the people, he added.

He said Imran refused to accept the latest decision of the Islamabad High Court, which restrained the PTI from locking down the federal capital. He had made fun of the court decision, he alleged. He said the capital was not an enemy’s territory that the PTI wanted to besiege. The Constitution and laws of Pakistan did not allow anybody to usurp the fundamental rights of citizens, he added.

Saad said the government was ready to hold a dialogue on the formation of a commission for inquiry into the Panama Leaks. The PML-N did not want to take burden of the Panama issue into the next election as the prime minister had welcomed the hearing of the case by the Supreme Court.

Regardless of how much Imran Khan raised hue and cry and how much he lied, the change in Pakistan would come through vote, he remarked.

Saad said Imran should refrain from creating chaos in the country. He and and his associates would be held accountable for their misdeeds, he added. Saad Rafique reminded that Imran Khan removed the chief of Accountability Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when he unearthed corruption of PTI officials.

The anti-corruption department of KP was also made dysfunctional after the scam of “billion trees plantation” project surfaced, he added. He said after the attack on lawyers, police cadets were ambushed and martyred in Quetta, which was very tragic. He said the government would continue its efforts to eradicate terrorism and ensure a brighter future for the next generation.

Talking about the performance of Pakistan Railways, he said its revenue was increased from Rs 18 billion to Rs 36 billion, freight delivery rose by six times and the number of passengers also grew. He said with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), rail tracks would be upgraded. Some other projects would also be completed under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry assured the businessmen community and citizens of Islamabad that the government would ensure that the capital remained open and everybody exercised his right of free movement.