PPP slams govt for 'mishandling' TLP protests

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for mishandling protests of banned outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and claimed that the lives of police and security personnel could be in danger due to its wrong decisions.

PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar slammed PTI government for mishandling the issue of TLP protests. Expressing concern over the clashes between the proscribed TLP and the law enforcement personnel, he said, "10 security personnel were martyred in a day. Two soldiers of Pakistan army, four policemen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were martyred fighting militants. Four policemen in Punjab were martyred by TLP protesters."

"How long will the police and army continue to pay the price for the unwise policies of Islamabad and Rawalpindi?" he said in a statement on Thursday. The PPP leader said, "The solution to resolve our problems lies in the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). The misuse of religion and extremist groups for political purposes will always have a severe fallout."

Khokhar asked that when will our state institutions and political parties realise the consequences of misuse of religion and extremist groups. He said, "On this occasion, there is no need for Rangers to be deployed, if we remain united and stand with the Punjab Police. The Punjab Police has full capability and the will to deal with the militants and control them. I stand with Punjab Police, our soldiers and officers at this difficult time and hope they handle this crisis safely."

Vice-President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) Senator Sherry Rehman claimed that that the lives of police and security personnel could be in danger due to wrong decisions of the PTI government about protests of banned TLP. Senator Rehman said that as many as 10 security personnel have been martyred and more than 80 seriously injured during the handling and to stop the protest of TLP due to the unclear policy of the government.

She said that her sympathies and condolences with the families of the martyr police jawans. "PTI government talks to the protesters one day and says the next day it is a militant group, while the prime minister did not know about the previous agreement. The lack of seriousness of the rulers turns a common issue into a crisis," Rehman said in a statement on Thursday.

She said that Pakistan's Parliament draws up National Action Plan (NAP) to tackle terrorism and militancy. She said that the government should take Parliament into confidence and implement the National Action Plan (NAP) on this issue.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021