ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, while talking about the arrest of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir, said that the two lawmakers were stopped from flying to Dubai because a first information report (FIR) had been registered against them in Swabi.
“There is an FIR against the PTM MNAs in which they have not obtained bail,” he said, adding that there is no prohibition on the two leaders’ movement.
Chaudhry said the PTM leaders should obtain bail in the case against them in Swabi.
While talking to reporters at Bacha Khan International Airport on Friday, Dawar had said they were told that their names were on the Exit Control List (ECL) because of a public meeting held in Swabi some time ago. The MNA had claimed that they had already obtained bail in that case and challenged it in a court of law.
Fawad also talked about the recent groundbreaking of the Kartarpur Corridor, saying that a mindset exists in Pakistan and India that decisions are taken by the country’s armed forces.
“The Indian army chief has given a statement that no talks with Pakistan will be held till Pakistan becomes a secular state, while Prime Minister Modi termed the Kartarpur Corridor a positive initiative,” he said.
“Are these not two different things?” he asked.
The information minister also discussed the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Karachi and clarified that the operation does not fall under the domain of the federal government and is being conducted under orders from the Supreme Court (SC). However, Fawad said, the operation must start with the rich and influential as it “did in Islamabad”.
