Grateful to Punjab for rejecting PTI's violent long march: Rana Sanaullah

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that he was thankful to the people of Punjab for rejecting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) "violent" long march, Aaj News reported.

“Imran Khan had made tall claims that he will bring 2 million people to Islamabad in his long march, but since the morning, only a few hundred people have tried to cross the barriers created by police, and failed," the interior minister said while addressing a press conference along with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb in Islamabad.

He said that the situation in the rest of the province remained peaceful.

The minister thanked the people of Punjab for not participating in Imran Khan’s “Fitna and Fasad march," and added that the situation in Balochistan and Sindh also remained peaceful where no long march-related activity was seen.

“The real activity was witnessed in Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) where PTI is in power. There, they have engaged the entire government machinery, including cranes and weapons to make their long march successful. However, Imran Khan failed to gather a massive crowd even in his stronghold,” the minister said, adding that half of the crowd which was gathered at the Swabi Interchange returned after Imran Khan’s speech.

Long march: Major arteries blocked, authorities issue traffic plans

He said it was extremely disappointing and unconstitutional that an elected chief minister of a province is leading a “violent mob” toward Islamabad to take on the federal capital.

He also rejected the reports that former Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid and PTI leader Andleeb Abbas were arrested in Lahore, saying “they themselves had fed wrong information to TV channels regarding their arrest.”

The interior minister also apologised to the public for the inconvenience caused by road blockades erected to prevent the long march from reaching Islamabad.

He said he “fully realised the problems” caused to citizens by the closure of several routes in Punjab.

“The steps we have taken are intended to protect the lives and property of the people and are in the interest of Pakistan,” he said.

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