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PPP Vice-President Senator Sherry Rehman on Sunday said that PTI’s “worst legacy” was that it had “incessantly shrunk the space for democratic politics by resorting to extremes no one has gone to before” as the opposition prepared for a protest at D-Chowk on October 15.
Her statement came as the PTI announced the suspension of its protests in Punjab and issued a nationwide call urging party leaders and workers to converge in Islamabad on Oct 15 when the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will begin.
The PTI has also demanded immediate access for party leaders and family members to its founder, Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Adiala Jail. The government earlier banned visits to prisoners at the prison until Oct 18 due to security concerns related to the high-profile SCO summit.
“If the PTI goes forward [with] its call for protest in Islamabad on the day of the SCO summit when 7 Prime Ministers are visiting, then no one should be faulted for shaming them as the worst face of mob-led narcissism. This is not politics,” Senator Rehman said in an X post.
She added that no one had forgotten “PTI’s violence” when Chinese President Xi Jinping cancelled his visit over the party’s mass anti-government demonstrations in Islamabad in 2014.
“That’s not going to happen again,” she said. “We have all been under arrest in worse conditions but no one has done this.”
The former federal minister went on to say that much of the PTI’s concern could be addressed after the summit, however, the party’s “worst legacy” was that it had “incessantly shrunk the space for democratic politics by resorting to extremes no one has gone to before.”
Responding to her post, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja questioned whether she was aware of the “assaults underway on PTI MNA’s homes”.
“How can horror be painted as national beauty on display?” he said. “Let his personal physician see Imran Khan sahib in jail.”
A day prior, Planning Minister Ahsan had Iqbal strongly condemned the PTI’s call for the protest, calling it “political terrorism aimed at maligning the country and stopping its development and economic progress.”
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the courts should take notice of the protest call, saying they were bound to do so.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also said that the protest was “part of a conspiracy”, criticising the PTI for “consistently pursuing an agenda against the country and collaborating with enemies of the state”.
Earlier, traders and analysts expressed “grave concerns” over the party’s call to protest, urging the party’s leadership to reconsider the move.
The federal government has deployed more than 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel for the security of about 900 delegates who will arrive in Islamabad for the 23rd SCO summit to be held on Oct 15 and 16.
The SCO meeting will see participation from Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Iranian First Vice President Reza Aref, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and leaders from other member states. The security agencies are, therefore, determined to prevent any disruptions.
The government has deployed army troops under Article 245 of the Constitution, to bolster security measures in Islamabad from October 5 to 17. The federal government has also announced a three-day holiday in the capital starting from Oct 14 to ensure the safety and protection of delegates attending the summit.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has imposed Section 144 in the Rawalpindi district for eight days — from Oct 10 to 17 — citing the arrival of foreign dignitaries at PAF Base Nur Khan, Rawalpindi, and New Islamabad International Airport for the SCO Summit.
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