Will tell SC everything surrounding Faizabad sit-in: Shahid Khaqan

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday that he would reveal everything to the Supreme Court, if summoned, about the 2017 Faizabad sit-in, which paralysed the twin cities for weeks and exposed the fragility of civilian rule in Pakistan.

Abbasi, who took charge of office of the prime minister after the ouster of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on corruption charges in 2017, told a local TV channel that he had opposed the agreement that ended the Faizabad sit-in by a hardline religious group, but it was initiated by then-interior minister Ahsan Iqbal.

He said the police could have easily dispersed the protesters, who numbered in the hundreds, if they had been so inclined.

He also warned that if parliament was vulnerable to such pressure tactics, so was the judiciary.

Read more: SC to take up review pleas challenging Faizabad sit-in verdict

“The military and the judiciary have a lot of influence in the country’s affairs. If they don’t come together with the political leadership, then there will be no governance in the country,” he said.

Abbasi described the current situation as extraordinary and a crucial test for the country’s leadership.

He said no political party seemed to care about the public’s problems and expressed concern that the delay in holding elections was creating uncertainty.

He denied having any personal ambitions for political office or party leadership and attributed the rise of new political groups to the failure of the three major parties in Pakistan.