Maryam Nawaz slams ‘disruptive group’ for attempting march on Islamabad

LAHORE: Without naming the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Wednesday that while Palestinians were celebrating, a ‘disruptive group’ was attempting to march on Islamabad.

Addressing Ittehad Bain-ul-Muslimeen Committee (Inter-Muslim Unity Committee), Maryam Nawaz said religious scholars play an important role in improving society and that both the state and the people consider them leaders.

Maryam Nawaz challenged claims that police firing had killed 600 workers of the proscribed TLP, asking where the bodies and evidence were.

“If that had happened, there would be piles of corpses,” she said. “Which killings are they talking about for which there is no video? If anyone has evidence, produce it so I can hold my police to account.”

She said Pakistan’s security forces had suffered casualties — “our men were martyred, the world saw that” — and again asked opponents to show the alleged bodies.

Without naming former prime minister Imran Khan, she accused “a jailed figure” of spreading the lies, saying the same man once ordered shootings inside mosques and had now turned to exploiting religion as his political support weakened.

She said that everyone has the right to participate in politics, but the country’s progress must come first, and that some parties had been formed in the past for political ends.

She asked why action was taken against a particular party, adding that police officers should not be subjected to violence nor should property be damaged.

Maryam Nawaz said that authorities try hard not to disrupt people’s daily lives. Religious parties, she said, also have the right to take part in politics, but they cannot pick up arms and attack any police officer they encounter.

She stressed that the police and other law-enforcement agencies exist to protect the lives and property of citizens.

She said that protecting citizens’ life and property is the government’s top priority and that the government wants people to go about their business without facing difficulties.

Blocking roads for political purposes and damaging property is unacceptable, she said.

Referring to the May 9 events, the chief minister said action against the PTI began when its members took up arms against the state.

She said the PTI’s decline started on May 9, questioning the need for those engaged in political struggle to take up weapons.

She insisted that her side also struggled politically but never used weapons, while parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami and other religious groups held rallies without resorting to arms.