Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said that the provincial governments were legally and constitutionally bound to ensure that all arteries connecting the country remain open for people while warning that inability to do so would result in ‘grave’ consequences for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governments.
During a press conference, the interior minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists have blocked all roads leading to Islamabad from Rawalpindi. They have also cut-off Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by blocking highways and mo torways, he added. He said that the provincial governments should not support the miscreants but instead resort to action against them.
The minister also said that only a few thousand people are protesting in the two provinces and urged the police to keep legal options open. “This is not a long march. Two provinces are attacking the federation. Two governments are conducting this protest, else people wouldn’t be visible,” Sanaullah said during the presser. “If anyone works against the interest of national institutions, national unity or the state — such matters cannot be forgiven,” he maintained.
Sanaullah said that the federal government has written to the governments of KP and Punjab to disperse miscreants who have hijacked the entry and exit points.
