ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broad­casting Marriyum Aurang­zeb said on Sunday that the people of Pakistan had rejected what she called the negative politics of Imran Khan and his call for agitation had miserably failed.

In a tweet in response to former prime minister Imran Khan’s call of protest on Sunday night, she said that people of Pakistan had recognised his “fake and hypocritical face”.

Taking a jibe at Mr Khan, she said that those who ran away on the night of May 25 now wanted to spread chaos and anarchy in the country over inflation caused by their own inefficient regime as the PTI’s narrative of “foreign conspiracy” had been buried.

Why people should take to streets for those who sold national interest for a few diamonds, she asked.

She said why people should come to protest on the call of a hypocrite who had plundered national wealth when in power.

Why people should come out for the person who deprived the working class of employment and their livelihood, she said, adding, why people should respond to the call of those who were responsible for inflation, economic catastrophe and unemployment in the country.

She said that the people would not respond to the call of those who created the “storm of inflation” and signed agreements with the IMF on weak grounds.

Why should the people come out on the call of those who increased flour price from Rs35 to Rs90 per kg, and sugar price from Rs52 to Rs120 per kg.

The minister maintained that the people would not pay any heed to the protest call of those who had launched a “bloody march” last month and shot dead policemen performing their duty.

“Why should the people go out to protest for those who wanted the country divided into three parts and who sold national interest in exchange of diamond rings for four years. The people would not take part in protest demonstrations for those who borrowed record money during their four-year tenure and sold Kash­mir and created division in the country,” she said.

The minister said the government was correcting the economic direction of the country and at this critical juncture, no violent protests would be allowed.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2022