LAHORE: PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira has said threat to the PML-N government is not over yet.

“The government is safe for the time being but the threat to it still exists,” he said at a Meet the Press programme here on Wednesday.

Mr Kaira said the government should show flexibility in resolving the crisis. “Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri are sticking to their stances and the government to its own. But if the government thinks that it will get anything by taking harsh measures against the protesting parties it is mistaken,” he said.

Flanked by Usman Salim Malik, Mr Kaira said the government had not given powers to committees holding talks with the Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek.

“The prime minister should constitute a committee comprising reputable politicians and empower it to hold negotiations with the protesting parties,” he said.

The PPP leader said Dr Qadri should get justice in the Model Town incident and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should accept his responsibility and step down.

Mr Kaira, who was information minister in the last PPP regime, said there was no issue in holding mid-term elections if constitutional requirements were met.

He said Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khurshid Shah had not demanded the holding of mid-term polls.

He said the PPP supported the rigging charges of Imran Khan but on its pretext it could neither support the prime minister’s resignation nor the ‘go Nawaz go’ drive.

About possible defections in the PPP in the wake of PTI’s popularity, Mr Kaira said in every party some people switched over parties.

He said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had apologized because workers felt their grievances were not met when the party was in the government.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd , 2014