LAHORE: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has warned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday the government would not allow anyone to create anarchy and chaos in the country under the guise of long march.
Talking to journalists outside the Lahore sessions court, Sanaullah warned former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure that PTI’s long march on Islamabad was ‘peaceful’ and ‘political’. “They will have to give the government assurances that the march will be peaceful, political and democratic,” he said.
“If you do not assure the government that this will be a peaceful march, I will not let you leave your house,” Sanaullah added. He also criticised Imran Khan for “inciting” and “misleading” the public against the incumbent government.
“Even yesterday, Imran told his supporters not to spare anyone. I am warning you for the last time. If you don’t let go of these tactics and keep encouraging your supporters to disrespect members of other parties, you will face the same fate too. You won’t be able to escape from it,” he added.
He further added that if Imran Khan didn’t mend his ways, they too would instruct their workers to ‘catch and beat them up’. “This is your misconception that you will be able to cause anarchy or chaos in the country. Nothing will happen,” Sanaullah told Imran.
‘Take your words back’
He also excoriated Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rashid for his “ignorant” and “misleading” comments against the government. “You told people that this march will be bloody. I am warning you to take your words back or I won’t let you step out of your house.”
The interior minister recalled that Rasheed used to say that jail is just like his in-laws’ home, questioning that then why has he applied for pre-arrest bail in court. “Why are you scared of going to your sausral?” he questioned.
He further demanded of PTI to “distance” itself, condemn and apologise for the Masjid-i-Nabwi incident, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet members were heckled by Pakistani pilgrims last month.
Sanaullah said there was pressure on the government from religious groups to pursue cases against the PTI for what happened in Saudi Arabia. “But we don’t want this. We want them to at least apologise,” he added.
‘Imran Khan defending Farah Gogi’
Sanaullah further said that the former premier is defending Farah Khan, a friend of the PTI chairman’s wife Bushra Bibi; alleging that Imran’s amnesty scheme was “introduced for Farah because she greatly benefitted from it”.
“There have been a series of accusations [one of which is] that Usman Buzdar was appointed the chief minister of Punjab to take instructions from Farah,” he said. “He collected billions of rupees in postings and there are transactions that show this money was sent abroad.”
Situation is getting worrisome: Sheikh Rasheed
Reacting to Sanaullah’s comments, former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed said that the situation in the country is getting worrisome and every day will be crucial till May 31. “In order to save the country we want the election commission to announce the date for the election,” he said.
He reiterated that he doesn’t belong to PTI; he only supports Imran Khan. “If you want to arrest us you can do so we are people with big hearts who will forgive them when we come back in power,” he stated.
