Opposition accuses government of procrastination, flawed strategy to deal with protests

The major political parties on Saturday accused the government of employing flawed strategy and procrastination to end the religious hardliners' sit-in and thus further aggravating the situation. The PTI reiterated its demand for holding fresh elections in the country.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, once again, reiterated his demand for early elections in the country, saying it is the way out to steer the country clear of the prevailing political crisis which has created total chaos.
The clashes began on early Saturday morning when police launched an operation involving some 4,000 officials to disperse around 1,000 sit-in participants of Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah and uproot their camps set up at Faizabad Interchange.
In a statement issued here, Khan said that the only solution to steer the country clear of the prevailing crisis is a fresh mandate as the government has miserably failed to establish its writ. "The country is burning and the Prime Minister is busy meetings a disqualified man [Nawaz Sharif] at Jati Umra. "There exist no writ of the state anywhere in the country due to which I once again repeat my party's demand for fresh elections," he added.
He said that due to the incompetence of the government he has been demanding early elections, adding writ of the state is fast eroding as govt's only focus is to protect Sharif family which plundered national wealth. "I have constantly been saying the use of force is no solution to the issue. "The way government is trying to handle the situation, reflects its incompetence and failure. I would like to urge the protesters to stay clam and peaceful," he added.
Chaudhry Manzoor, a spokesman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said that the unnecessary delay and flawed strategy complicated the situation, due to which common people continue to suffer. "The government should not have prolonged it and if it had been serious it could have easily resolved it. "The controversy in the elections bill had already been resolved and the issue could have been resolved through dialogue," he added.
He alleged that there are two groups within the ruling PML-N as one of the two groups is supporting dialogue while the other of the two is not ready to resolve the issue through talks. "Shahbaz Sharif [Punjab chief minister] kept saying that those involved in it should be punished, but then it was Punjab government that did not pay any heed to it, which was not a good strategy," he added.
To a question, he said that the issue could have been resolved through the platform of the Parliament by taking opposition political parties on board but the government also lost this option as it kept delaying the issue which ultimately led to confrontation.
MNA Sheikh Salahuddin of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) also criticized the government, saying it was a sensitive issue, which should have been given top priority, but the government took the issue for granted He said that those involved in the controversy should be held accountable and punished according to the law of the land. "The courts had also directed to resolve the issue peacefully. It is a sensitive matter which should have been handled with care. Any negligence in dealing with the protesters may lead to anarchy in the country," he added.
Senator Kamil Ali Agha of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) said that the delaying tactics on part of the government was not a wise decision at all; adding these kinds of sensitive issues should have been resolved peacefully. He demanded that Senator Raja Zafarul Haq-led committee report should be made public immediately and all those involved in it, which the committee must have traced, should be punished under the law.
"The situation is not favourable and if concrete measures were not taken, it may have serious repercussions. Shutting down television channels is another blunder which the government has made out of its naivety, misreading of situation and incompetence," he added.