No ‘attacker’ will be allowed into KP in future, says Asif from Pakistan

SIALKOT/ISLAMABAD: Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has categorically said that henceforth “no attacker” from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be allowed into Islamabad, describing the recent PTI protest in the capital as part 2 May 9 tragedy. “We must destroy the evil intentions of our enemies,” he said Saturday at a news conference at his residence in the canton.

He said PTI has always practiced the politics of chaos and continued to spread false propaganda about bodies. “Everyone knows what PTI did on November 24. Spreads false propaganda on bodies. This led to the martyrdom of police and Rangers personnel, whose funerals were also held. PTI should not spread false propaganda on the bodies of its employees. We pay tribute to all martyrs, including Rangers and police, who did not hesitate to give their lives for our beloved homeland.

“I should make it clear that no attacker will come from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now. Those who made big claims left the field and fled at the first hurdle,” he said, adding that the manner in which KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur and Imran Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi he left the party workers and ran away, he had no example in the past.

“We suggested them to sit down and hold a rally in other places, but the lady did not agree. “Latif Khosa and other PTI leaders give varying numbers of their ‘martyrs,’ initially in the thousands, then in the hundreds, and now 10 or 12. However, no statements have been received in this regard from the bereaved families,” he added.

The defense minister said PTI leader Omar Ayub, who claimed he was shot in the chest, was ready to hold a press conference. He reiterated that PTI has always pursued the policy of chaos. “The first sit-in was held in 2014, resulting in the cancellation of the Chinese Prime Minister’s visit to Islamabad. They then announced a sit-in strike to sabotage the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Islamabad, but by the grace of Allah the meeting took place and now, during the visit of the President of Belarus, PTI tried to organize another meeting -in Islamabad. This shows their “anti-nationalism”. Gandapur fled Islamabad and now he is shouting and claiming that the sit-in strike is still going on. Can’t you understand what kind of occupation this is?” the minister wondered.

Tarar says that according to reports, the man pushed from the container was injured, but his condition is now “completely healthy”

“PTI makes work easier”

On the other hand, Asif said that Afghan attackers are crossing the border and approaching KP. “The Taliban are crossing the border. All this is part of the conspiracy that Pakistan’s enemies have dreamed of (attempting to) separate KP from Pakistan and PTI is the political facilitator of this conspiracy. This situation is unacceptable and intolerable,” he said. “The November 24 (protest) was actually the May 9 (violence) that was thwarted by our defense agencies,” he added.

Moreover, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar lamented that PTI resorted to “false narrative of dead bodies and shootings” to hide the embarrassment of escaping from Islamabad.

Speaking to the media on the “fake photos and posts” posted by PTI on social media, he said the party had not produced a single video of the shooting in the past three days. Instead, they posted old photos and AI-generated images on social media, even those showing victims in Gaza and the 2019 incident when PTI itself was in power, he said.

On the contrary, he said, PTI protesters used weapons against security personnel and caused damage to public properties.

He asked why PTI had not published photos and video footage of the fallen police and Rangers personnel.

Instead, he added, PTI sent a fake photo showing the entire road in the Blue Area covered in blood. Such posts were “marked as false” because a unit was created to check them, he added.

Tarar said those who shared incorrect details about the bodies on social media accounts will have to testify or face the music.

In fact, as the minister said, there is a power struggle going on within the PTI ranks. In his opinion, the absence of leadership during the protest was a sign of protest.

He also condemned the harsh words used by Bushra Bibi against senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja and Sahibzada Hamid Raza.

He demanded that PTI pay compensation to traders and entrepreneurs who suffered losses of Rs 190 billion per day due to the protest.

He said that the CM of Gandapur had escaped twice. He said such people should be ashamed of themselves before calling people to take to the streets, he said, adding that their anti-national agenda had been exposed.

Tarar said the man who was reportedly pushed from a container during the PTI protest was injured but is “completely fine”, denying claims circulating online that he died, Dawn.com reported.

“Man on a Container”

Following the protests, a video of uniformed men who appeared to be security personnel equipped with riot gear throwing a man from a stack of three containers placed to block D-Chowk was widely circulated on the Internet.

Photo taken by Fr AFP the photographer showed a man hanging from the corner of a container while uniformed men stood on top of the container. Various social media posts reported that the man had died.

Apparently he was referring to this incident, Mr. Tarar he said: “There was propaganda that someone was praying and was killed by being pushed.

“He is a resident of Mandi Bahauddin and he is fine. His video was leaked online, he is injured in the arm and has bandages,” confirmed the minister.

Tarar then claimed that the person was recording the TikTok video because he was “challenging his friend” and was not actually praying.

He said that in the law and order meeting, it was decided that no one would be allowed to create chaos and indulge in violence.

“When we came to power, Pakistan was on the verge of default, but we didn’t accuse anyone and we worked day and night to improve the situation in the country,” as Prime Minister Shehbaz’s mission was primarily to restore the country’s economy, he said.

He quoted the IMF managing director as saying that Pakistan would have defaulted if Shehbaz Sharif was not there.

Published in Dawn on December 1, 2024