ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said the kind of relief provided by courts to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has not been extended to others in the past.
Referring to suspension of the arrest warrants of Imran Khan by the IHC, he said during a press conference that the kind of relief provided to the PTI chairman “has not been seen in the past”. “We respect the court’s judgment but the verdicts of the courts are surprising for us.”
When he was asked if the courts have issued such judgments on their own or anyone else is behind the courts, the minister replied in the negative. “I think after March 13 there will be no more room for Khan and he is going slowly and gradually towards his end.”
Rana Sanaullah said that the Punjab government has imposed section 144 on the basis of intelligence agencies’ reports. “Government of Punjab took the right decision and it is their prerogative,” he said, adding that PTI chief Khan announced his “Burger March” on the eve of International Women’s Day. The PTI is holding the rally on the same day where two other events including Aurat March and ‘Haya Day’ organised by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to be held. All these three rallies or marches were announced to be held in the same place and route, he said, adding that in such a situation any untoward incident could have happened.
He said that as per his information, Punjab government has asked the PTI to share the route of their rally but they refused. On the one hand, the PTI chief displayed his plastered leg when it came to appearing before courts and on the other hand, he is staging rallies, he said, adding that the main agenda of Khan is to create tension and to destabilise the country’s political and economic situation.
When the minister was asked if the tradition of imposition of section 144 continued then no political party will be able to stage a rally or protest in the future, he said that was it necessary for a political party to hold it on March 8 the day our sisters are holding Aurat March in connection with the international day.
The PTI should have held its rally on March 7 or on March 9, he said.
The minister also asked the JI that if you had planned ‘Haya march’ then you should have organized it on March 7 or March 9. “Such kind of situation creates problems for the administration and security agencies”, he said.
To a question that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president Maryam Nawaz demanded that former director general (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed (retired) should be court-martialed, he said that court martial can only be done by the institution, not the government. Politicians can only demand and express their stance, he said.
Responding to a question about Faiz Hameed and his brother’s assets, he said that an inquiry is underway in this regard but it would be premature to say something about it. “The media will be informed if anything comes forth with this respect,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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