ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday advised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan to learn to be patient and wait for the 2023 general election, declaring that no one would be bogged down by threats.

The election would be held in August 2023 and there was “no need to hurl threats at the government or state institutions” over that subject, said the minister while addressing a press conference, apparently in response to the press talk by ex-premier Khan.

“Now you are saying that there can be negotiations with the government. No, we are not giving you this NRO and there will not be negotiations with you if they are based on threats and pressures,” she said, while reminding the ex-PM that at the time the PTI was in government, the then opposition parties PML-N and PPP used to call for negotiations over economy, Covid-19 and FATF. “But at that time you used to say I will not give them NRO. Now we are telling you that we are not giving you the NRO.”

The term of incumbent assembly ends on Aug 12, 2023.

She said Mr Khan was in power for four years, but he did not serve the people and could not give relief to the people. She also mocked his statement regarding his wish to have two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

“Today he says that he needs two-thirds majority, what they have done for the people in the last four years, he could not give any plan to the people,” the minister said, “But Imran Khan only appears on TV every day to announce his failure, in this state of mind he should refrain from appearing at media.”

While referring to the PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’, she said the protest was not peaceful as the marchers used violence to pressure the government, policemen were martyred, property was damaged, and accusations were hurled at state institutions. She said the Supreme Court had allowed Mr Khan to hold the public meeting in H-9 sector of Islamabad, but he could not even hold the power show due to limited number of participants. “At the same time all parties protested from the PDM platform collectively and individually but never harmed anyone nor did we resort to violence or launch attacks at the institutions,” she said.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2022