• Minister slams PTI over ‘fake narratives’ on social media
• Hammad believes ‘minus-Imran formula’ will fail; Sahibzada says PTI eying talks with establishment

LAHORE: Information Minister Atta Tarar on Sunday criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) call for civil disobedience, mocking its proposer for being “disobedient since childhood”.

“The shameful call for civil disobedience has come from someone who once set fire to electricity bills,” Mr Tarar said, referring to PTI founder Imran Khan. “You have been disobedient since your childhood.”

Meanwhile, in a move that signals a shift in its strategy, the PTI has decided to engage in dialogue with the establishment, postponing its plan­ned civil disobedience move­­ment until the outcome of the negotiations is clear.

Mr Tarar, speaking at a Christmas event in his constituency, said the public needed solutions to inflation, not disruptive measures like civil disobedience.

“The people have rejected the politics of civil disobedience and violence. There will be no more chaos and mischievousness in the country,” he said. “The people have resisted such tactics in the past and will do so again. Miscreants will fail to achieve their ulterior motives,” he said.

The minister also insisted that while the federal government was imple­­menting the Nati­onal Action Plan to root out terrorism, the Khyber Pakht­unkhwa gover­­nment was not serious about maintaining law and order in the province.

He alleged that funds were being diverted to build a false narrative instead of addressing violence in areas like Kurram.

Minus-Imran formula ‘doomed to fail’

Meanwhile, the PTI has reiterated its stance that efforts to sideline Imran Khan are futile. Hammad Azhar, PTI Punjab president, declared on Sunday that the “minus-Imran formula” had failed in the past and would fail again.

In a post on his X account, Mr Azhar said Imran Khan is the “most significant political force” in the country today, claiming the PTI leader’s support base had grown even during his “illegitimate incarceration”.

In another post, Mr Azhar said the establishment’s key functionaries also did not appear on the same page. “Someone is giving hope to Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while another was seen pampering the PML-N leadership,” he said.

“None of these touts have the guts to become a councillor, and the parties they were pampering could not win a single seat if elections are held in a transparent manner,” he said.

Talks with establishment

Separately, PTI’s negotiation committee member Sahibzada Hamid Raza said the party believed in nego­tiating with the “act­ual centres of power” rat­her than the government.

“The government does not hold the authority for meaningful talks. Nego­tiations will only take place with those who are the real source of power,” Mr Raza, who is also chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council, told DawnNewsTV’s Nadir Guramani.

He emphasised that PTI has never ruled out discussions with the establishment and remained open to dialogue.

Explaining the decision to defer the civil disobedience movement, Mr Raza said, “We are not launching the campaign on Dec 14. The civil disobedience movement will only commence if negotiations fail.”

He added, “If the government cannot meet our demands, we will engage directly with those who have the authority to address them.”

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2024