Govt open to talks, but demands cannot be met through instability: Sanaullah
- Urges PTI to put national interest above political agenda
The government, through Rana Sanaullah, urged PTI to end its long march and engage in dialogue, accusing it of promoting instability and misusing resources while neglecting counter-terrorism efforts.
- Government's call for dialogue with PTI.
- Accusations against PTI's long march and instability.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government's counter-terrorism efforts.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that the government remained open to dialogue with the opposition, urging the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to abandon its long march and return to the negotiating table.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Sanaullah said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also called on the opposition, PTI and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to reject the politics of instability and resolve issues through dialogue.
He, however, said political demands could not be met through what he described as a course of political instability or by disrupting state affairs.
“I would like to make it clear that no demand can be forced to meet by employing the tactics of creating political instability or taking the state hostage,” he said
Sanaullah accused the PTI of promoting political instability, intolerance, hatred and abusive language, and urged its leadership to place national interests above political interests and call off the long march.
He also alleged that the PTI was using government resources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for its march towards Islamabad, in violation of the court order. He said the people of the province had been affected by terrorism while the provincial government was focusing on the march.
The adviser said the federal government had repeatedly invited the PTI to abandon its policy of political confrontation and come to the negotiating table.
On security, Sanaullah said the government already had a policy to counter terrorism and would continue pursuing it with full vigour.
He said intelligence-based operations against terrorists were continuing and would remain underway until the threat was eliminated.
Sanaullah criticised the KP government, alleging that it had failed to fulfil its responsibilities in the fight against terrorism. “The federal government has so far prioritised negotiations and wants the provincial government to play its role in counterterrorism efforts,” he said.
He added that the federal government could play its part in the national interest if the provincial government continued with its current approach.
The adviser also said the PTI’s ongoing march had failed to secure the level of public support it expected. PTI officials, meanwhile, have described the march as peaceful and within the constitutional framework.