PTI’s relevance will end soon due to violence-inciting politics: defence minister

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday called out Imran Khan’s PTI once again and said that the party’s relevance will end soon because of its violence-inciting politics.

After more than a year of heightened tensions between the government and the PTI, the two sides commenced negotiations in December last year to bring down political temperatures. But despite weeks of negotiations, the dialogue process stalled on two major issues — the formation of two judicial commissions and the release of PTI prisoners.

PTI decided to boycott the fourth round of talks (which were scheduled to take place on Jan 28) with the government, a day after it announced that party founder Imran issued directions to call off negotiations due to a delay over the formation of judicial commissions. After the talks remained in limbo, both sides have continued trading barbs against each other.

The minister, in a video message that was broadcast on different news channels today, said, “Things will settle down soon and their [PTI] relevance will end as will their politics of inciting violence.”

Asif briefly spoke about the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, who was awarded a ceremonial guard of honour during his visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

He said that PTI, including Imran, used to have close ties with the army chief in the past. “Now, the party and supporters use foul language against the army.”

“The kind of tactics PTI uses are not seen anywhere else in the world, he remarked,” he said, adding that the country’s situation was improving, causing heightened anxiety for the party.

The minister further said, “The army is rendering sacrifices for the country, but the PTI continues to spread propaganda against Pakistan”.

Last week, an alliance of opposition parties resolved to increase coordination to give the government a tough time.

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Leaders of the opposition PTI on Monday urged the judiciary to expedite the cases related to alleged rigging during the general elections and the 26th Amendment.

Meanwhile, Imran criticised the military’s alleged role in politics, urging it “to return to its constitutional limits” in a letter to Gen Munir.

It followed his first letter on Feb 3, in which he claimed a growing disconnect between the military and the public, urging a re-evaluation of policies to bridge the perceived divide. However, security sources said the letter had not been received by the military and dismissed reports in the media about the existence of such a letter. They claimed that the military establishment was not interested in receiving such a letter.