Islamabad, Oct 8 (PTI) Ahead of the SCO meeting, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said former premier Imran Khan’s party will not be allowed to repeat the 2014 sit-in that had prompted cancellation of the Chinese president’s visit then.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Head of States’ Summit is to take place on October 15 and 16 here.
Khan, who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year, had called his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to hold a rally at D-Chowk here demanding his release and independence of the judiciary.
The national capital’s D-Chowk is the same venue where the PTI had organised a sit-in for 126 days in 2014, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to postpone his visit.
From Friday through Saturday, PTI supporters and workers clashed with security personnel at Islamabad and Lahore; scores of the party workers were arrested and cases lodged against Khan and his supporters.
Pakistan is hosting the SCO meeting and comprehensive arrangements have been made for it, Sharif said and also added that the Chinese Premier would also be paying a bilateral visit to Pakistan.
Sharif announced at the cabinet meeting that it was not acceptable that a particular party was creating hurdles in the development of Pakistan when the country was moving forward on the path of development and improving the living standards of the people.
Slamming the opposition party, Sharif said that the PTI had done nothing except to create chaos and divide the nation. “Neither did the party bring back money to the country while it was in power nor did it end corruption — claims that were part of its election manifesto.” Stating that top officials from China, Russia, India, and other nations will attend the SCO conference and if a protest is going on in the capital, it will pose a security threat, Sharif said, “I will not allow the repeat of 2014 […] the conspiracy that took place. We will not allow this, we will not tolerate this at all.” “This is my promise to the nation,” the prime minister told his cabinet members.
This is not the first time that Sharif and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are blaming PTI for “compromising Pakistan’s economy.” The reference to 2014 comes two days after two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 other people injured in a suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers near Pakistan’s busiest airport at Karachi late on Sunday night.
The attack is the latest in a string of violence against Chinese workers in Pakistan and comes less than two weeks before the SCO meet in the national capital.
Sharif expressed his regret at the Karachi blast incident and said Pakistan shares the grief and sorrow of the Chinese people.
Following the deadly airport blast, Sharif said he met the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan on Monday and assured him of foolproof security for Chinese nationals in Pakistan.
“Indeed, the Chinese are saddened. However, we have assured them that we have made complete security arrangements for the upcoming SCO summit,” he added. PTI SH NPK NPK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.