Time to make crucial decisions in KP: Asif

‘Enough is enough’
Achakzai “guarantees” negotiation process to continue after meeting PTI founder
islamabad
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said the government was trying to avoid imposing governor’s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, but warned that it could resort to the option if no other way was left.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, the minister said that there was nothing impeding the imposition og governor’s rule in the province, but the government was trying not to use what he described as the “last option”.
“If there is no other way left, then we can use that option,” he said.
Asif also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urging it to “play the role of a political party rather than a terrorist organisation”.
“We cannot leave the capital at their mercy so that every two or three months they join hands with the Taliban and march on the capital,” he said.
The minister described the Taliban as an “anti-Pakistan power” and said that if the PTI allied with it and attacked the capital, the government had the right and responsibility to protect Islamabad.
He referred to the PTI leadership’s alleged failure to attend the funerals of people killed in Taliban attacks and its failure to condemn explosions, claiming that these factors indicated, in his view, that the Taliban had a militant component within the K-P government.
Asif also described the PTI’s planned long march as an “attack on Islamabad”, saying previous attacks on the capital had also been motivated by political parties’ efforts to establish their credibility within their own ranks.
He attributed the failure of talks between the government and opposition to internal differences within the PTI.
“Differences within the PTI have intensified,” he said, adding that members of the PTI sitting in the National Assembly, its negotiating team and even its allies wanted a solution to the issue that was acceptable to the entire country.
Asked about the PTI’s demand for a meeting with Imran Khan before deciding whether to postpone its long march, Asif said he did not know about it.
He instead urged the PTI to look at its record. “Look at your past. When we were imprisoned, what facilities did you provide us? Did you keep us at the Marriott?” he said.
Asif reiterated that the PTI should act as a political party rather than a terrorist organisation.