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Amid unrest over PTI protests, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the need for tough decisions to end the culture of disruptive protests and ensure national stability, Geo News reported.
His remarks came during a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a day after law enforcement cleared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters from Islamabad following clashes and widespread disruption. "We have to decide whether we save Pakistan or allow sit-ins to take place," PM Shehbaz said, emphasising that the nation must choose between stability and agitation. The prime minister's comments followed PTI's much-anticipated "do-or-die" protest, which was called off early Wednesday after a crackdown by authorities. The demonstrations, aimed at securing Imran Khan's release, led to road closures, halted business activities, and disrupted daily life in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi earlier announced that life had returned to normal across Pakistan, with roads cleared and mobile and internet services restored. However, PM Shehbaz lamented the economic toll of the protests, stating, "Our stock exchange, which had crossed 99,000, plunged by over 4,000 points yesterday due to the riots." He added, "The economy is facing a loss of PKR 190 billion daily [due to the protests]." The premier also criticised PTI's history of staging sit-ins, recalling the 2014 protests that caused violence for 126 days and led to the cancellation of a high-profile visit by the Chinese president, reported Geo News. He warned that similar chaos had been attempted ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, saying, "There was a wave of concern among our guests whether to visit Pakistan or not." Highlighting the broader implications of such unrest, PM Shehbaz pointed to rising terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and recent clashes in Kurram. He accused the KP government of neglecting local issues and instead using state resources to attack Islamabad. "They KP government should have [resolved] the Parachinar and Kurram matters but they attacked Islamabad using government resources," he said. Labelling the protests as sedition rather than a legitimate movement, the prime minister declared, "This is a conspiracy and it must be ended at all costs." Stressing the need for a united front to address the country's challenges, he added, "We have two paths which we can take, and it is obvious that we have to take the path of development and prosperity," Geo News. In closing, PM Shehbaz condemned the PTI's actions as a threat to the nation's stability and vowed to safeguard Pakistan. "We'll break hand that wants to damage Pakistan," he stressed, underlining his commitment to tackling the challenges posed by disruptive politics. (ANI)
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