LAHORE MIRROR — Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said the imposition of emergency could have been avoided had an agreement been reached during negotiations, insisting that no one wanted the extraordinary measure to be imposed.
Speaking in the Senate, Naqvi said discussions with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had initially focused on terrorism, with seven to eight points discussed. He said PTI leader Asad Qaiser had assured the government that the party would stand with Pakistan on all these issues.
The minister said he had pointed out to Mr Qaiser that his position differed from that of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, adding that no political issues had been discussed at the initial stage of the negotiations.
According to Naqvi, six amendments were proposed for the fourth time during the talks, and the government accepted all of them. Once the points had been settled, the agreed text was handed over to the chief minister, who subsequently forwarded it to Murad Saeed. The minister claimed that the two days of negotiations were rendered futile after the text was shared.
Mr Naqvi said the government could not allow security personnel to continue sacrificing their lives while political leaders criticised those who had been killed in the line of duty. He added that the government had not linked political disagreements with terrorism.
Responding to a question about his earlier claim that Mr Saeed was operating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, the interior minister said he had information about Mr Saeed’s whereabouts and would share it later.
Emergency and governor’s rule options existed earlier
Naqvi said the options of imposing emergency and governor’s rule had also been available on November 26. Recounting events surrounding the political confrontation, he said the government had offered PTI a designated place on November 25 as the party prepared to stage a protest.
According to the minister, PTI had instead demanded a telephone conversation with its incarcerated founder before agreeing to postpone the sit-in. He said that, after the call took place, half of the party refused to accept the arrangement and insisted that a video message be recorded.
Naqvi said he asked Barrister Gohar to arrange the recording of the message and that the government waited for two hours. He claimed the party’s founder initially insisted that the statement be recorded from behind bars, but later said he would do so the following day.
The minister said the government took the matter to the prime minister and president before facilitating the recording at the prison. However, he added, the PTI founder subsequently declined to record the message that day and demanded that his lawyers be called before proceeding.
Minister rejects allegation of constitutional violation
Addressing objections raised by Senator Raja Nasir Abbas, Mr Naqvi said the senator had alleged a violation of the Constitution but had not identified the specific provision that had been breached.
He said representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had examined the relevant constitutional provisions together and concluded that no violation had occurred.
Naqvi acknowledged that the measure could be debated on its merits but maintained that the government considered its action justified.
