Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday that he did not think there would be any “meaningful talks” in the country amid threats of civil disobedience by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and ongoing political unrest in Islamabad. “In this case, it may be started by the previous government.
In an interview with a private television station in Sialkot, Defense Minister Imran Khan accused his party of creating “inconvenient” conditions for the peace process.
Earlier this month, the PTI founder, who was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in 2022, warned of “civil disobedience” against the government if his demands, including a judicial inquiry into the crackdown on party supporters, were met. not implemented. Taking to X (formerly twitter) and claiming to have a “trump card”, Imran announced the constitution of a dialogue committee consisting of Omar Ayub Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Asad Qaiser and others.
The committee said it would hold talks with the federal government on two issues, the release of undertrial “political prisoners” and the setting up of a judicial commission to investigate the May 9, 2023 incident and put late pressure on the PTI. protesters on November 26
“If these two demands are not accepted, the civil disobedience movement will start from December 14,” the jailed ex-prime minister said, adding that the government would be responsible for the consequences of the movement. Khan’s founding party then extended the civil disobedience date to December 16.
Responding to a question, the minister said that he was not aware of the talks with the former ruling party and said that the statement about the talks came from the former ruling party.
There was no statement from the Treasury bench regarding the relationship with PTI.
The minister also said that PTI leaders are not equal on various issues.
Greek shipwreck ‘systems failure’
Turning to the Greek shipwreck, the minister said: “The shipwreck in Greece is a failure of our system.”
Asif said that as part of the government, this issue should be resolved on priority. He said people are selling their property to send their children abroad.
It is worth mentioning here that hundreds of Pakistanis travel abroad illegally and some die on the journey every year.
He warned that the “busy system” of illegal immigration was linked to “slave traffickers”.
People who travel abroad illegally face prison time or death.
The minister also accused government officials of “disruption” and said the system to stop illegal migrants was “under threat”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) today confirmed that 47 Pakistani nationals have been rescued from a shipwreck near Greece, while another migrant has been confirmed dead.
The ministry clarified the situation but indicated that additional casualties are possible as rescue operations are still underway.
At least five migrants drowned after a wooden boat capsized off the southern Greek island of Gavdos, the coast guard said on Saturday, and witnesses reported more missing as the search continued.
