PM Shehbaz tells PTI to end long march, says govt will sit down for talks if it does

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the PTI to end its long march and sit-in, saying the government would sit down and talk to it if it did.

Speaking at a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of a road project, the prime minister said he was appealing to the party even now to “come to its senses”. “For God’s sake, end your long march and sit-in, and if you end it, we will certainly sit with you and talk,” he said, so that ‘Pakistan could move forward’ with full resolve.

He said the “ominous shadows” of sit-ins and long marches were re-emerging, and that the government and its allies had decided through mutual consultation to engage the PTI leadership in meaningful and sincere negotiations. “Extensive efforts were made day and night,” he said.

Talks that fell short

PM Shehbaz said a joint committee of the PML-N and PPP held talks with the PTI in the Speaker’s chamber for two days and nights, with breaks followed by resumptions, and there was strong hope the talks would produce positive results and end the politics of sit-ins.

“Unfortunately, that did not happen,” he said. Despite the PPP and PML-N engaging in all seriousness, he said, the PTI demanded further changes at the last moment to matters already settled. “Their sole objective was to ensure that the dialogue did not succeed in any way,” he said.

Economy first in line

The prime minister said the first target of the politics of sit-ins and long marches would be the economy, with exports and manufacturing facing obstacles. If workers and engineers could not reach factories and manufacturing sites on time, he asked, “who suffers? The nation suffers.”

He said the government had steered the economy towards stability over two and a half years with great effort, and that even outsiders were praising Pakistan’s current situation. “Do you want to damage it? We will not let it happen, under any circumstances,” he said.

‘Law will take its course’

“The law will take its own course,” PM Shehbaz said, adding that protecting the lives and property of the public was the government’s responsibility and would be ensured by every means. “Does your action benefit Pakistan or harm it? The entire nation knows,” he said.

Project and Kashmir Chowk

Earlier, the prime minister said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had planned to complete the project within a month, and commended him and his team. He said Kashmir Chowk was named after Kashmir and expressed the hope that the highway would one day lead to Srinagar, with the rights and freedom of the Kashmiri people achieved.

Better roads, bridges and underpasses, he said, helped children travelling to schools, madrassas and universities, cyclists and rickshaw drivers save time and reach workplaces on schedule.