- They thought Trump would come and release Imran Khan but that didn’t happen: Kh Asif
SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif on Saturday said that the government will not allow the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to disrupt the state again by repeating incidents like May 9 or November 26.
“The government can’t permit the PTI to attack the state like May 9 or November 26,” Kh Asif asserted while speaking at a press conference in Sialkot.
“While the state is facing terrorism in two of our provinces, this party (PTI), even if not involved in the same acts of terrorism, is still amplifying them,” he emphasized.
Referring to the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament, Asif said that all of PTI’s rallies or protests “coincide with an event which is supposed to increase Pakistan’s respectability, so they protest to reduce the importance of that event”.
“The resources of the KP government are being used, government employees are being told to attend. A question arises as to why such gatherings do not happen in other provinces?” he added.
“You won’t see any PTI leadership from the rest of the three provinces,” he said, adding, “We do not have an objection if a peaceful gathering is done but in the past, all of them have started with violence.”
“KP’s chief minister says that 99 per cent of our demands have been met then that should be a cause for celebration, not protests,” Asif said.
The defence minister continued: “As a political party they cannot negotiate a political solution, it is a fruitless exercise when there is no sincerity and negotiations are used as a smoke screen.
“Behind closed doors, PTI is negotiating with the establishment,” he claimed.
Speaking about possible pressure from the US to release PTI founder Imran Khan, he said, “They thought Trump would come and release Imran Khan but that didn’t happen.
“One of the members of the American delegation that came here said that they PTI are spending $3-4 million per month there for lobbying,” he claimed.
