ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar denied on Saturday the government was pursuing any policy that aimed at eliminating Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, though he emphasized that anyone involved in the May 9 rioting or arson attacks on state properties should face the full force of the law.
The PTI has complained of not getting a level playing field ahead of the national elections in February, saying that its leadership has been targeted since the violence of May 9 when Khan was briefly arrested on graft charges from a court in Islamabad.
Hundreds of people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings, including a top general’s residence in Lahore and the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, leading to a crackdown that included arrests of the party’s national and provincial leaders.
Khan was incarcerated in August after being convicted by a local court in a corruption reference. He is also facing a prison trial in a case in which he has been charged with leaking state secrets. Khan has filed his nomination papers for the next elections, though his eligibility to contest them remains uncertain.
“I don’t believe the PTI as an entity should only be viewed from the prism of May 9,” the prime minister said during an interview with Hum News TV. “It is not the government’s policy to eliminate the PTI as a political entity. This is not a stated objective of the caretaker administration or anyone else. But let me repeat: The people who are involved in May 9 riots and arsons must face the law.”
He reiterated that in his personal opinion anyone involved in the “disruptive political behavior” of May 9 should not be allowed to hold public office, though he added it was his personal opinion and any such decision was up to the country’s election regulatory body.
Kakar said it would make him uneasy to see people with such “erratic behavior” entrusted with great responsibilities of the state.
He noted that he had voted twice for Khan’s PTI and defended its administration since he thought it would improve governance structure, taxation mechanism and health care system in Pakistan.
Asked if he would look into the PTI complaints that its candidates were being impeded to contest the elections, he replied in the affirmative.
“We will look into it and we will take account of such individual complaints and take action on them,” he added. “That’s what our job is.”
Pakistan PM refutes claims of targeting Imran Khan’s party, supports legal action against May 9 rioters
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Pakistan PM refutes claims of targeting Imran Khan’s party, supports legal action against May 9 rioters
- Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar says people with ‘disruptive political behavior’ should not get great responsibilities of the state
- He informs that he voted for Khan’s PTI twice and supported it since he thought it would improve governance in Pakistan