Khan will be confronted in every city, won’t let him shut down: Rashid

• Minister asks Khan to approach the courts for justice instead of crying at the media
• Sharif brothers show inclination towards talks to resolve issues with Khan

Reacting to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s warning to shut down Pakistan on December 16, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervez Rashid Sunday ruled out holding talks with Khan and said that the government will instead confront the PTI chief.

Talking to a private news outfit after Khan’s demand for poll rigging probe coupled with a warning to shut down major cities, Rashid said, “We are sons of Pakistan and we will confront Imran Khan in every city. Neither Lahore will shut down nor Faisalabad. Khan intended to paralyze the whole country because Pakistan has enhanced its reach up to Kabul and Middle East.”

“Those challenging the atomic power will get a befitting response,” he said, adding that Khan was under the impression that the government will observe silence on such a statement.

Hinting that Imran Khan was part of an anti-state conspiracy, he said the international media had predicted two years ago that Pakistan would become a failed state in 2015.

Moreover, Rashid said that tall claims of PTI chief to gather million people in the federal capital had failed. He said people have boycotted the sit-in and public meeting of PTI held in the federal capital.

He said that PTI chief had organized public meetings in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Jhelum, Larkana and other cities of the country to convince people, through his drive. The PTI chief sat on the container and waited for the people, he added.

He said that Jamaat-e-Islami and Haripur public meetings were better than PTI’s “jalsi”.

To a question regarding the public meeting of PTI in Islamabad, he said that half of the 9,000 chairs remained empty.

Answering a question, the minister said courts were open for providing justice to PTI chief and he should take the proof of election rigging to the courts instead of the media.

“We have made request to apex court to form a commission for probing rigging charges levelled by the PTI chief.”

The senator said the courts were open and independent for providing justice to every citizen.

SHARIF BROTHERS FOR DIALOGUE:

However, earlier Sunday before the PTI’s public gathering was held, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif decided in a meeting to reinitiate dialogue process with PTI.

The Punjab CM Sunday called on the premier and discussed the current political situation in the wake of PTI’s Islamabad rally. Both leaders agreed over the need to hold dialogues with the party. The CM told the premier that ultimate solution of the current crisis is only in the talks between the parties.

During the meeting, the PM said that the people have rejected the ‘dharna (sit-in) politics’. Both leaders also discussed the decrease in petroleum prices, providing relief to the people.