Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday supported the call by Hazara Shias for handing over Quetta to the army, saying the military could be called in to control the law and order in accordance with the constitution.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Khan strongly condemned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) for the Quetta bombing that left over 84 members of the Hazara community dead.
He said Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), seen as the most ruthless sectarian group, had claimed responsibility for the attack in Quetta.
The PTI chief said grave injustice was being carried out against the residents of Quetta and the Hazara community, adding that his party would stage protests at all district headquarters to show solidarity with the Hazara community.
He also appealed to the chief justice to take suo motu notice of the incident.
“We demand that a special court be set up and the culprits be punished,” he said.
Khan also demanded the government give compensation to the families of those who were killed as a result of the blast.
To a question, he said the general election were the solution to all problems, adding that those who wanted to delay the elections were enemies of the country.
He also strongly condemned the murder of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital consultant Dr Ali Haider and his son in Lahore.
Addressing a sit-in staged by Mehsud tribesmen in Islamabad earlier,
Khan said drone attacks were being carried out with the consent of the government and were a by-product of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
The PTI chairman said tribesmen should be part of the decision-making process to establish peace in Waziristan, as peace could not be maintained in the area without them.
He said both former president General Pervez Musharraf and the present government were responsible for the current condition of the Mehsud tribesmen
“Today all the schools are closed in Waziristan. What would be the future of the children there?” he said, adding that the future of the youngsters was at stake since for past nine years.
“Eighty percent people of the area have become homeless and nobody has tried to solve their problems,” he said.
The PTI chief said the government would have to change its policies to bring peace in the Tribal Areas, demanding the government disengage itself from the war on terror and try to bring peace in Waziristan.