PTI protest: Govt makes last-ditch appeals for negotiation
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Federal Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has also said that the government will soon decide whether to allow the rally participants to enter Islamabad's Red Zone area.
He added that the government was not considering the option of imposing an emergency.
Speaking to media representatives on Tuesday, the federal railways minister said that while the government was making efforts to contact PAT and PTI, attempts to convince both parties against taking any unconstitutional steps had remained 'unfruitful.'
He requested the protesting parties to resolve all issues through dialogue instead of resorting to violence and other unconstitutional measures.
The federal minister said he was naming names so that those mentioned could respond to the claims, adding that he had “spoken to Arif Alvi, Shah Mehmood Qureishi and Asad Umar after making hectic efforts to establish contact with them over the telephone”.
“I begged all three PTI leaders to reconcile with the government and only stopped short of touching Qureshi’s feet over the telephone,” Rafique added.
He further said that even other political leaders who are not the PML-N’s coalition partners were making efforts to diffuse the situation.
“Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq and party leader Liaquat Baloch spent all night outside the Frontier House requesting PAT and PTI leaders to back off from their unconstitutional demands.”
The PML-N leader said any political party can gather thousands of people to hold rallies and added that even the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), PML-N and other parties were capable of gathering thousands of people but that did not mean a few thousand people will change the fate of the whole of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.
The minister said Prime Minister Sharif enjoyed the support of 190 legislators and would not step down.
“If Imran Khan is so keen on sitting on the Prime Minister’s chair, we can gift wrap it and send it to the PTI chief so he can realise his dreams,” Rafique said, adding that “we are open to discuss all options even if it means legislating new laws to meet the demands. If you have reforms then bring them forward, we are ready to discuss them as well.”
Ministers critical of tactics
Rafique said any political party can gather thousands of people to hold rallies but that did not mean a few thousand people will change the fate of the Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.
He said Prime Minister Sharif enjoyed the support of 190 legislators and would not step down.
“If Imran Khan is so keen on sitting on the prime minister’s chair, we can gift wrap it and send it to the PTI chief so he can realise his dreams,” Rafique said, adding that “we are open to discuss all options even if it means legislating new laws to meet the demands. If you have reforms then bring them forward, we are ready to discuss them as well.”
Iqbal said the government will take strict action against those who violate the country’s laws and try to enter the ‘Red Zone’.
He said it was unfortunate that the protesters were not ready to abide by their promise to the government and the city administration of not entering the Red Zone.
He asked about the agenda the political parties were working on and said the country’s image was being tarnished because of a few hundred thousand people.
“Please don't put your life in danger by participating in PTI’s protests,” the minister said in an appeal to the general public.
Iqbal said all the business circles of the country were strained due to political uncertainty with foreign investment plunging and the stock market plummeting.
Iqbal said the government had called for the formation of a committee to look into rigging allegations but Imran Khan backed out of that as well.
If the Supreme Court is not to be trusted and every move for reconciliation is thwarted, that depicts that these people have an underlying agenda, he said.
PTI refuses to hold talks with government negotiators
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) top leadership on Tuesday refused to meet and hold talks with government negotiators, saying that it was too late to negotiate now.
Credible government sources told Dawn that after the PTI leadership's refusal to talk to government negotiators, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed senior ministers to reach out to other like-minded politicians in the Parliament so that they could be included in the negotiating committee.
Following the prime minister's instructions, senior ministers who are close to the premier have established contact with other like-minded politicians so they may be sent to the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leadership before the expiry of the deadline given by Imran Khan over leading his 'Azadi' march into the federal capital's Red Zone.
Sources said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is closely monitoring the situation and has directed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to ensure security of the Red Zone at any cost.