Pakistan govt wobbly in its stance on PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on Saturday showed a wobbly stance regarding the main opposition party, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, as the leaders offered peace talks and simultaneously lashed out at it, Pakistan-based daily, The Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said that the government will ban PTI and will begin proceedings against it for "treason" for dissolving the National Assembly during a no-confidence motion in April 2022, The Express Tribune reported.

This was after Supreme Court pronounced PTI as a parliamentary party on July 12, which made it eligible for getting reserved seats in national and regional assemblies.

After the PML-N spokesperson declared a tough stance against PTI, Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadiq Malik in a press conference extended on Saturday offered to hold talks with PTI, The Express Tribune reported.

Days later, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and SAFRON Amir Muqam accused PTI of enabling a foreign agenda and said, "After the US resolution in favor of PTI, the bill presented in the U.S. Senate against Pakistan and China is a message for those who can see the bigger picture. It has been proven that PTI is working for a foreign agenda. PTI is working for lobbies in Pakistan and those lobbies are working for the party abroad."

PML-N member Irfan Siddiqui asked Imran Khan to stop the blame game and confess his alleged crimes.

"Admit pitting the PTI against the army, attacked Rawalpindi to stop appointment of General Asim Munir and conspired for a military rebellion to overthrow the army chief on May 9... show some courage and admit all your deeds, speak the complete truth if you've lost your nerve and can no longer bear the burden of hiding it." The Express Tribune quoted Siddiqui as saying.

Siddiqui added that Khan must admit that he was behind the May 9 riots and conducted attacks on over 200 military installations.

"[Khan must admit] burning of air force plans, mocking the martyrs in helicopter crash, inciting abuse against the army chief on social media, running advertisement campaign on intercity buses abroad against the military and its chief, making videos portraying General Munir as the Yahya Khan of this era, and writing articles against the military and the chief from jail," he said.

Later, the Federal Minister for Petroleum, Malik, on Saturday rebuffed claims of offering peace talks with PTI, saying that the PML-N already gave plenty of chances to PTI in the past, The Express Tribune reported.