Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) call for civil disobedience, describing its proposer as “disobedient since childhood,” according to Dawn.
Referring to PTI founder Imran Khan, Tarar remarked, “The shameful call for civil disobedience has come from someone who once set fire to electricity bills.” He added, “You have been disobedient since your childhood.”
Addressing a Christmas event in his constituency, Tarar emphasized that citizens needed solutions to inflation rather than disruptive initiatives like civil disobedience. “The people have rejected the politics of civil disobedience and violence. There will be no more chaos and mischievousness in the country,” he said. He further stated, “The people have resisted such tactics in the past and will do so again. Miscreants will fail to achieve their ulterior motives.”
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Tarar also highlighted the federal government’s efforts to implement the National Action Plan to eradicate terrorism. However, he accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of lacking seriousness in maintaining law and order. He alleged that funds were being misallocated to construct a false narrative instead of addressing issues in violence-prone areas like Kurram.
Meanwhile, PTI appears to be revising its strategy, opting to engage in talks with the establishment and postponing its civil disobedience campaign until negotiations yield a clear outcome.
PTI Punjab president Hammad Azhar, addressing the government’s efforts to marginalize Imran Khan, stated, “The ‘minus-Imran formula’ had failed in the past and would fail again.”
In a post on X, he referred to Khan as the “most significant political force” in Pakistan and claimed that his support base had grown even during his “illegitimate incarceration.”
In another post on X, Azhar suggested a lack of unity within the establishment. “Someone is giving hope to Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while another was seen pampering the PML-N leadership,” he said. He further remarked, “None of these touts have the guts to become a councillor, and the parties they were pampering could not win a single seat if elections are held in a transparent manner.”
Separately, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, a member of PTI’s negotiation committee and Chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council, stated that the party prioritizes negotiating with “actual centres of power” over the government. “The government does not hold the authority for meaningful talks. Negotiations will only take place with those who are the real source of power,” Raza told Dawn.
Commenting on the postponement of the civil disobedience campaign, Raza said, “We are not launching the campaign on Dec 14. The civil disobedience movement will only commence if negotiations fail.” He added, “If the government cannot meet our demands, we will engage directly with those who have the authority to address them.”
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