Amriaz Khan Islamabad
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat has advised the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and opposition to call off their respective power shows, which they plan on holding at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on the eve of a no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Shujaat appealed to both the sides to immediately announce the cancellation of their rallies in the “greater interest of the country”.
“Given the current situation in Pakistan, [we] cannot afford this dangerous confrontation,” he said, adding that “the politics of rallies and numbers” by the opposition and government had further troubled the people already struggling in the face of inflation and poverty.
The PML-Q chief, who has been a key ally of the PTI so far, said it’s usually the opposition parties that indulge in the “politics of rallies” but this time around the government was also holding public meetings in competition with its rivals.
“Holding rallies is not the government’s job,” he said.Shujaat warned that the politics of tit-for-tat could create “political chaos and a crisis”, which would benefit Pakistan’s “internal and external enemies”.
“And everyone would regret if someone is killed during this confrontation,” he remarked.He urged the PTI and opposition parties to not lead their supporters towards “provocative politics”.
He asked both the sides to participate in the upcoming no-trust motion in a democratic manner and set aside their egos in favour of democracy and the Constitution.
Shujaat said the PML-Q’s politics has always had the country’s interests at its heart and that his party prioritises “reconciliation” in politics.
He also said that those who called the PML-Q a “small party have forgotten that we have made big decisions for the sake of the country and democracy”.
