ISLAMABAD/SIALKOT - Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Saturday that national harmony was needed to uproot the monster of terrorism but Imran Khan’s lust for power was creating hurdles in achieving that. Talking to a private media channel, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) avoided building a national consensus against terrorism by refusing to participate in the All Parties Conference (APC) called in the wake of Police Lines Peshawar tragedy. While condemning the Karachi terror attack, the minister said the time has come to move beyond condemnation against terrorism. The government’s top priority was to control terrorism and deal with the economic crisis and it had kept all political differences and instability aside to achieve those endeavours. Answering a query, the minister said Jail Bharo Tahreek should not be for workers only. Imran Khan advised all party workers to surrender themselves for the Jail Bharo Tehreek, but he himself was hiding in his home and calling his workers to reach Zaman Park and save him (from arrest), Khawaja added.
Imran lauds President Alvi for not approving mini-budget ordinance
He said, “Instead of getting pre-arrest bail and whining to the media, Imran should put his words into practice for the honor of politics.” As Pakistan grapples with the economic crisis, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Saturday that the cash-strapped nation has “already defaulted”. The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, while addressing a convention at a private college in Sialkot, stressed: “The country has defaulted. We live in a state that has defaulted.” Due to the serious economic crisis that has forced several industries to shut down operations and pushed millions of people on the brink of poverty, the centre is trying to get the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on board in the next day or two as depleting reserves and upcoming repayments on external fronts have pushed the government into the corner.