Government to move court against protest leader for incitement — Defense Minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan government on Saturday announced to move court against opposition leader and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, for what it called “instigating people against the prime minister and state institutions.”
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators have camped in the capital city of Islamabad demanding the premier to step down, calling for fresh elections in the country.
“This is a mutiny … we are moving a court [against Rehman] for instigating people against the prime minister and state institutions,” said Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, who heads the government negotiating committee holding dialogue with the opposition parties to resolve the crisis.
Khattak said that all institutions were on the same page, “playing a neutral role.” “The PM’s resignation is not possible. Don’t even think about it,” he added.
The JUI-F chief is leading the charged protesters against the government which he alleges to be a “product of rigging” as a result of last year’s polls.
On Friday, Rehman gave the prime minister two days to resign, warning that his demonstrators otherwise had the power to go inside the prime minister’s house and arrest him.
The firebrand religious-politico leader, who enjoys the support of at least eight other opposition parties, also urged in his speech the state institutions not to support the “illegitimate” government and stay “impartial.”
Shortly after his speech, the country’s powerful military said that it supported the elected government and the constitution and not a single party. “We believe in the law and the constitution and our support is with the democratically elected government, not with any party,” military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said in comments to a television news channel late on Friday.
The defense minister said the government’s negotiating committee was in touch with the opposition leaders and its doors were open for dialogue to resolve the protesters’ genuine grievances. However, he warned the demonstrators against moving closer to the Parliament to press ahead for their demands.
“In case of any chaos, the state institutions will deal with them as per law,” Khattak said while urging people to exercise “patience” as the government’s difficult economic decisions had started bearing fruit. “All economic indicators are improving ... prosperity will come soon,” he said.
The opposition parties have been trying to capitalize on the general public’s anger against Prime Minister Khan’s administration that came into power last year promising at least ten million jobs for youth and five million low-cost homes for the middle-class.
The middle has, however, nosedived over the last year with inflation touching double-digit as the government inked a $6 billion bailout package with tough taxation and economic reforms conditions to stave off a balance of payments crisis.
“They [opposition leaders] are trying to stop the government from functioning, because they know if we succeed in fixing the economy, they will lose the next election as well,” Khattak said.
On the other hand, Rehman called upon his party workers and supporters who were currently not participating in the Azadi March to reach Islamabad and join the anti-government sit-in.
“There is still time. We are in Islamabad … I appeal to the people not to stay behind and join the sea of people sitting in Islamabad,” Rehman said in a video message on Saturday.

Government to move court against protest leader for incitement — Defense Minister