ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar on Sunday said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) always indulged in protests and sit-ins as the party did not have any positive or constructive agenda.

Talking to the media on Sunday, the minister said that the series of incitement, threats and accusations was the style of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leadership.

He reminded that in 2014, they attacked the Pakistan Television Corporation building and targeted law-enforcement personnel. The PTI leaders incite people to violence and then run away, the minister said.

He said it was important to inform the nation about what he called facts regarding “baseless” allegations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Rana Sanaullah accuses the party of bringing Pakistan to brink of default

Mr Tarar said that Mr Gandapur’s allegations were based on lies and concoctions as foreign media was invited to KP to give them misleading briefings.

He said Mr Gandapur had claimed the next call of protest or long march will not be peaceful but the question arises as to which of their past protest calls were peaceful. The minister claimed on November 26, they invaded Islamabad with AK-47 rifles, teargas shells, grenades and slingshots.

The PTI first faked 1200 bodies and spread AI-generated fake pictures on social media. “If they were speaking the truth, their leadership would not have given conflicting figures from 12 to 1200 deaths,” the minister said.

He said the wife of PTI founder Bushra Bibi was inciting the workers through her address and posed a question as to why Mr Gandapour and Bushra Bibi ran away leaving their workers alone at D-Chowk.

About Mr Gandapur, Mr Tarar said he was a political and administrative failure as the KP chief minister had failed to manage affairs of the province. The minister said the nation will never forget what the PTI workers did on May 9 and all people involved in arson and violence must face the law of the land. He said that the PTI was spreading propaganda against institutions on social media through its supporters abroad, adding that PTI social media activists had links with anti-Pakistan people including Indians.—APP

Punjab rejected politics of ‘chaos’

Meanwhile, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said that the politics of abusing rivals was initiated in 2017 by the PTI, which brought Pakistan — the world’s 30th largest economy at that time — to the brink of default in a matter of a few years. He said that the PML-N is not responsible for inflation and economic crisis in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a new centre of Rescue 1122 in Faisalabad on Sunday, he asserted that had the PML-N not been forced out of the power in 2017, the country would have been among the G20 economies.

Referring to the Nov 26 protest by the PTI, the PM’s aide said that nobody from Punjab took to the streets as they did not like ‘chaos and anarchy’, rather politics of service. “They are still continuing the politics of abuse, protests, chaos, and anarchy. There is no room for this kind of politics in the country. Pakistan was built on the basis of brotherhood, not hatred,” he said, adding that the PTI’s social media made a fuss about the killing of their workers. “Earlier, they used to say that 278 people were killed, then they reduced the figure and now they are claiming that only 12 people were killed,” the PML-N leader said.

Lauding Maryam Nawaz’ government in Punjab, he said that focus of the chief minister’s service is the common man.

With additional input from Tariq Saeed in Toba Tek Singh

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2024

Opinion

From hard to harder

From hard to harder

Instead of ‘hard state’ turning even harder, citizens deserve a state that goes soft on them in delivering democratic and development aspirations.

Editorial

Canal unrest
Updated 03 Apr, 2025

Canal unrest

With rising water scarcity in Indus system, it is crucial to move towards a consensus-driven policymaking process.
Iran-US tension
03 Apr, 2025

Iran-US tension

THE Trump administration’s threats aimed at Iran do not bode well for global peace, and unless Washington changes...
Flights to history
03 Apr, 2025

Flights to history

MOHENJODARO could have been the forgotten gold we desperately need. Instead, this 5,000-year-old well of antiquity ...
Eid amidst crises
Updated 31 Mar, 2025

Eid amidst crises

Until the Muslim world takes practical steps to end these atrocities, these besieged populations will see no joy.
Women’s rights
Updated 01 Apr, 2025

Women’s rights

Such judgements, and others directly impacting women’s rights should be given more airtime in media.
Not helping
Updated 02 Apr, 2025

Not helping

If it's committed to peace in Balochistan, the state must draw a line between militancy and legitimate protest.