LAHORE: The PTI’s parliamentary party in the Punjab Assembly says it is nothing but “hypocrisy” that the PML-N government, on the one hand, is holding talks with the opposition party’s leadership, while on the other “fascism” is being unleashed on its MPAs, leaders and workers, including women.

“The parliamentary party leadership demands the Punjab government should immediately stop its fascism and make the PTI-government talks meaningful,” says Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, flanked by party MPAs, at a news conference here on Monday.

He alleged the police also registered cases against close relatives of those “martyred at D-Chowk” and threatened them with dire consequences.

Mr Bhachar also demanded on behalf of the PTI parliamentary party that the party’s missing activists, allegedly picked from Islamabad on Nov 26, should be recovered.

He said PTI chairman Gohar Khan had submitted a list of 139 “missing” party workers.

The opposition leader lamented that the Punjab police were still raiding party MPAs, leaders and workers’ homes. He alleged that bogus FIRs were registered against MPA Qazi Ahmad Akbar and police ransacked his house four times.

Reiterating that the PML-N’s “puppet government” had no authority to hold talks with the PTI, Mr Bhachar said the ruling party has been directed by the powers that be for a dialogue with his party.

He said the PML-N government was so powerless that the Punjab chief secretary and police IG, who were appointed by the caretaker government, were still holding their charges in the “Form-47 government”.

He said despite talks with the government, the PTI would continue protesting and asserting its demand that the fake FIRs against the party leaders be withdrawn, missing persons be recovered and “political prisoners”, including party founder Imran Khan, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and others, released.

Referring to the postponement of Al-Qadir Trust case verdict till Jan 6, he said, everything in the country had become unsafe, but the court judgements.

He said the PTI members were sitting in the “bogus” Punjab Assembly because they wanted that the system should not be derailed.

“The ongoing dialogue is crucial in the sense that its outcome will determine whether Pakistan will stay on track or get derailed,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024