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Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to withdraw its October 15 protest call in the "larger national interest," Geo News reported.
Dar's remarks came as Pakistan is all set to hold the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting set to be held on October 15-16 in Islamabad. Speaking to reports following his visit to review arrangements for the upcoming SCO meeting, Dar stated that for the sake of politics, it was not good for a political party that had been repeating activities of 2014. Due to PTI's protest, Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit has been postponed. Ishaq Dar said that PTI had already crossed all the red lines in the past and targeted the state institutions and urged the party's leadership to rectify their wrong decision. He stated that several nations have requested bilateral meetings on the sidelines of SCO meeting, which were finalised. Dar's remarks came after PTI announced that it would hold a protest at Islamabad's D-Chowk on October 15, the day when the SCO Summit will start, ARY News reported. On being asked whether Afghanistan was invited to attend the SCO meeting, Dar said that the observer status of that country had been virtually suspended since 2021 as Afghanistan had neither been invited to nor participated in SCO meetings. He said Pakistan could not decide on inviting Afghanistan alone as the decisions on the SCO forum were taken by the member states. He further said that Pakistan is set to host the SCO meeting and would fully meet the responsibility, according to Geo News reported. Speaking about the North-South and South-South connectivity, Pakistan's Deputy PM said the discussions with the relevant nations were ongoing and continuing on the bilateral and multilateral levels. He further said that within the SCO framework, certain matters would be discussed under a specific scope of discussions and within its contours. He stated that the entire region needed integration and peace and termed it the core objective of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, including former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, according to Geo News report. He said that the issue was also included in the PML-N manifesto. He spoke about the government's efforts to reduce inflation ahead of the target set for the next year. PTI announced a protest after the party held its political committee meeting. In a post on X, PTI's central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said a 'powerful' protest would be held at D-Chowk in Islamabad on October 15. He said that PTI's protests in Punjab have been called off and called for the release of PTI workers, leaders, and Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) detained in Punjab, ARY News reported. The Imran Khan-founded party called for an end to 'unlawful' raids and arrests by the federal and Punjab government. Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that the PTI chairman's life is under threat due to the actions of the government, which have 'stripped' him of basic human rights. Akram also accused the government of oppression and violence, stressing that PTI will not back down. He further said, "The entire Pakistan will take to the streets on October 15, if Imran Khan is not granted access to basic rights, family, and party leaders," the report said. (ANI)
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