Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told opposition PTI to end long marches and sit-ins.
- Sharif warned that continued agitation could harm the country’s economic recovery.
- The PM emphasized that the government would only engage in dialogue after PTI ends agitation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to cease its long marches and sit-ins before seeking dialogue, warning that such actions could jeopardize the country’s economic recovery and international standing.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass, Sharif stated, “End your long marches and sit-ins. Once you end them, we will certainly sit down with you and talk.”
He accused the PTI of reverting to its “politics of sit-ins and long marches” despite repeated government efforts to engage in dialogue. Sharif highlighted that a joint committee of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had already held negotiations with the opposition, but the process collapsed after the PTI sought last-minute changes to an agreed draft.
The prime minister warned that the consequences of renewed agitation would ultimately impact the economy. He said, “What would happen if workers, engineers, and other employees were unable to reach factories and offices on time? Whose loss is it? It is the loss of this nation. Your economy will be the primary target.”
Sharif emphasized that the government had restored macroeconomic stability and was pursuing growth, citing improved exports, remittances, and industrial output. He warned that undermining these gains would amount to hostility towards the state, declaring, “We will not allow this to happen. The law will take its course.”
The Kashmir Chowk Underpass project, a Rs1.4 billion initiative, is aimed at easing one of the busiest traffic bottlenecks between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. According to officials, the project’s original PC-1 estimate stood at Rs1.6 billion, while the contract was awarded for Rs1.4 billion. The underpass will have four slip roads and is designed to ease congestion at an intersection handling around 107,000 vehicles a day.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the team for setting a one-month completion target for the project. He also announced that Islamabad would go plastic-free and cashless by year-end. Naqvi said F-9 Park was being upgraded along the lines of London’s Hyde Park, while a safari park touted as Asia’s largest and another the size of F-9 Park were also planned. He added that the complete digitalisation of Islamabad’s land records would also be completed by the end of the year.
Turning the occasion towards Kashmir, Sharif said the fact that the intersection was named Kashmir Chowk carried symbolic significance and expressed hope that the milestone would one day extend to Srinagar after the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) achieved their “inalienable right to freedom.”
End your long marches and sit-ins. Once you end them, we will certainly sit down with you and talk.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
We will not allow this to happen. The law will take its course.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
