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ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday issued a stark warning to miscreants of proscribed organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), urging them to clear roads and resolve the issues peacefully.
“I am telling the protestors to return home. I am telling their families: call your people home. The state will not stop at anything to assert itself,” the Information Minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad after meeting of National Security Committee (NSC).
Fawad Chaudhry warned that “no mob can stand up to the state,” warning that the government would be taking all possible measures to quell any further mischief. “The civilian and military leadership are like one clenched fist on this issue,” he added.
The information minister further said the state did not wish for blood to be shed in the streets, and asked the proscribed outfit’s members to return home. He said the government would not accept any demands put forth via blackmail, adding that the state had asked even the banned Tehereek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to sit on the negotiation table.
The federal minister again asked protesters to not consider the state “weak”, reminding them that “Pakistan has defeated terrorist organisations before.” He said the NSC had resolved to back the police force and the state would not tolerate this “mockery” for long.
Earlier in the day, the National Security Committee (NSC) resolved not to allow the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to challenge the writ of the state while taking serious note of the violent attacks carried out by proscribed organization.
This consensus was reached at the 35th meeting of the NSC, which was convened under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad. The NSC received a detailed briefing on the country’s internal security situation.
The high-level huddle was attended by relevant federal cabinet members, national security adviser, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, all three services chiefs, director-generals of ISI, IB and FIA, and other senior civil and military officers.
