LAHORE: As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up for another anti-government movement after Eid-ul-Fitr, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed to block efforts aimed at creating an “artificial political crisis” in the country.
“The people of Pakistan will no longer allow anyone to obstruct the journey of development and progress,” the former three-time prime minister said during a meeting with PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui in Raiwind.
Following the collapse of talks between the government and the opposition, the PTI has once again moved to establish a grand opposition alliance against the federal government. Party founder Imran Khan has ordered an acceleration of contacts with other opposition parties for protests after Eid.
In April last year, the PTI formed a multi-party opposition alliance named “Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan,” which included the Sunni Ittehad Council, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Party-Mengal, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen.
Now, reports suggest that the former ruling party has enlisted former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to join its anti-government movement.
Revealing the strategy of the former ruling party, Imran Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry stated that PTI is working towards forming a grand opposition alliance, focusing on objectives such as the restoration of the constitution and democracy.
During the meeting, Nawaz Sharif remarked that a certain group is “incapable of holding serious negotiations and lacks political understanding”—a veiled reference to the former ruling party.
“Had the journey of development that began in 2013 continued, there would have been no need for the IMF or external assistance today,” he added.
Praising the performance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, the PML-N president asserted that the country was “once again standing on its feet.”
He emphasized the need to expose the motives of those attempting to create chaos both inside and outside the Parliament. He also urged PML-N parliamentarians to play an active role and maintain a strong connection with the public.
Since Khan’s ouster from power, the PTI has staged multiple anti-government protests, but they often ended abruptly following violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement authorities.
