Much more force than May 25 to be applied to crush PTI march: Sana


Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah addressing a press conference in Islamabad. — PID/File

FAISALABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said the government will accept the decision of people in the by-elections.

Speaking to the media after casting his vote in the NA-108 by-election, the minister said if there was a long march, he would multiply the May 25 policy by ten to deal with it. However, he said, the government is ready for conditional talks with Imran Khan but there would be no unconditional dialogue.

He said that out of the eight seats of National Assembly and two seats of the Provincial Assembly, except for two constituencies, the elections had been peaceful. The security forces provided by the federal government were bound to implement the orders of Election Commission of Pakistan. He said the Election Commission had fulfilled its responsibility in a good way.

Sana added that it was unacceptable that anyone could come to occupy Islamabad whenever they wanted. “If Imran Khan wants to hold a long march, he should apply for it. Under Section 144, no one is allowed to roam around with arms, but I found out that the president of the Faisalabad District Bar was roaming in NA-108 with armed people,” he added.

Rejecting the objections raised against him on violations of the election code of conduct, he said that his residence was in NA-108 and he was present at his house. “During this time, if someone comes to meet me or I go out to meet someone, it cannot be considered a violation of election code of conduct,” he maintained.