PESHAWAR: Various political parties have criticised the federal government for its decision to call out the army to secure the federal capital for three months and said it is tantamount to giving an invitation to martial law in the country.

In their separate statements on Sunday, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Khanzada Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid provincial president Intikhab Khan Chamkani condemned the government’s decision to call for the army’s assistance and termed it a failure of the rulers.

Mr Sherpao said that the rulers were acting in panic as they had no idea how to overcome the crisis or face the emergency situation.

“It seems that the government is worried about the August 14 march of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). We oppose summoning the army as the decision is not in the interest of the nation,” he said.

Mr Sherpao, who is also a former interior minister, said that the decision showed that the government had no trust in the civilian law enforcement agencies.

Say the decision is tantamount to giving invitation to martial law in the country

“Our law enforcement agencies are quite capable of maintaining the law and order situation and there is no need for summoning the army for tackling such an issue,” he said.

He said that the government had no planning to deal with the PTI protest to be staged in Islamabad on August 14.

He said that such decisions would benefit the detractors of the government and would badly damage its credibility.

“The PTI protest doesn’t pose any threat to the government and the rulers should not overreact to it,” he maintained. He said that PTI had failed to deliver on its election pledges and they were now raising non-issues to divert attention from the problems being faced by the people.

PPP president Khanzada Khan also strongly opposed the government’s move to call out the military in Islamabad and described the decision as a total failure of the government. He demanded of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to accept his failure and resign.

“If the interior minister is unable to control Islamabad then how can he control the situation in the country,” he said and added that his party would oppose the government for taking such an undemocratic decision.

Mr Khan said that his party never supported any undemocratic movement because PPP had always rendered sacrifices for strengthening of democracy in the country, but it did not mean that the government would call military for tackling political rallies.

The PPP leader also asked PTI chairman Imran Khan to avoid politics of long march and sit-ins and focus on service of the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He also asked the federal government to give proper attention to solution of problems being faced by the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of North Wazirisitan Agency and provide them with all basic facilities. He said that the rulers should not settle political scores on IDPs and serve them with national zeal.

Mr Chamkani said that Article 245 could be implemented in case of possible foreign aggression and war-like situation, but there was no possibility of such things in the current scenario.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been facing war-like situation since long but it never suggested using the option of Article 245.

He said that the federal government imposed new taxes on the people, then subjected them to severe power and gas loadshedding and now Article 245 was implemented, which meant that the rulers were incapable to face challenges.

“We condemn the decision of the federal government and appeal to all the political and religious parties to join hands and devise a strategy for survival of democracy in the country,” the PML-Q leader said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2014