Advisor on Information for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Barrister Saif, has affirmed that protests will persist until Imran Khan is released and the charges against him are dropped. In response to federal ministers Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal’s remarks, Saif stated that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ministers appear anxious over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) call for peaceful protests, emphasizing that such demonstrations are a democratic and constitutional right.
He further claimed that the government is uneasy about PTI’s protests, and these will continue until the false cases against Imran Khan are dismissed and he is freed. Saif accused the government of trying to provoke a violent situation, likening it to the Model Town incident, but warned that such tactics will ultimately backfire.
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Saif also criticized Khawaja Asif for becoming a minister through dubious means, referencing his electoral defeat to a female candidate, and mocked Ahsan Iqbal’s recent comments, accusing him of using the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for political point-scoring.
The advisor also pointed out that the country’s economy has stagnated under what he referred to as an illegitimate government, arguing that national progress is impossible under such rule. He accused the government of exploiting events like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit for political gain.
According to Saif, Pakistan’s economic and political crises are rooted in the current regime, and unless it is removed, any efforts for progress or development will be in vain.
Earlier, Ahsan Iqbal compared PTI’s protests to terrorism, specifically highlighting their timing, as PTI plans demonstrations at D-Chowk. He recalled how PTI’s protests in 2014 disrupted a visit from the Chinese president and expressed concerns over their attempts to undermine the CPEC project.