While severely reprimanding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar has condemned the firebrand leader’s call for armed protest.
Reacting to the controversial statement, the minister highlighted the former ruling party’s alleged history of resorting to violent tactics. “Armed protests with illegal Afghan immigrants are PTI’s hallmark,” the minister said on Saturday.
They (PTI) earlier marched on the federal capital with armed groups, the 38-year-old Muslim League (N) politician said, stressing that their protests were never peaceful.
The minister’s condemnation comes after the KP chief minister asked PTI founder Imran Khan to stop advocating for peace while warning the incumbent federal government that party workers would come with “guns” next time. They will come to the streets.
“Imran Khan! For God’s sake, stop advocating peace. Next time we will not talk about peace. When we come out with arms, we will show who runs away,” Gandapur said in Abbottabad on Saturday. He said while addressing an event.
In his reaction to the Chief Minister’s statement, the Information Minister accused the Gandapur security guard of involvement in the violence, saying that eyewitnesses saw them firing.
He further said that their aim is to do politics over dead bodies.
The minister recalled two major PTI-led protests on May 9 and November 26, which he described as a “dark chapter” in the country’s history.
The PML-N leader also claimed that the people of KP have already rejected the approach of the Imran Khan-led party, saying: “People have turned their backs on PTI. and will continue to do so by rejecting the party’s call for protest.”
Criticizing the PML-N-led coalition government, Gandapur likened it to fascism and said that his party was fighting against a fascist government. He further said that fascism has violated the constitution, law, morality and humanity of Pakistan.