PDM asked to postpone its Peshawar rally amid threats

ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government says the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) should postpone its rally in Peshawar keeping in view the potential threats of terrorists’ atacks.

KP Minister for Labour and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai asked the PDM to hold talks with the government on all issues except accountability.

“Peshawar has witnessed a tragic terrorism incident in which innocent children of a madrassa were targeted. The PDM should reconsider their Peshawar rally in view of the potential threat of terrorism,” he said adding that KP government will not impose any ban on rallies and processions.

The PDM should not play with the lives of the people to save the corruption of some leaders, he added.

Yousafzai said that speeches are being made in PDM rallies against the army which is reprehensible and is providing an opportunity to the enemies for propaganda against the country.

He said that if the opposition has an agenda on public issues, the government is ready to negotiate with them.

However, Jamiate Ulemae Islam-fazl (JUI-F) General Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Haideri vowed that the opposition parties under the banner of PDM will hold its rally on November 22 despite the recent bomb blast and security threats in Peshawar.

Haideri asked the provincial government to ensure foolproof security for the public gathering and warned that the government would be responsible in case of any untoward incident. All the opposition political parties will take part in the rally, he added. The JUI-F leader also visited the madrassa where the bomb blast had happened and offered condolences to the bereaved families and asked about the health of injured students.

In a separate development, security forces have foiled a “possible terrorist activity” during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan province, the military’s media wing, Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

In a statement, the ISPR said that during the operation Ketch district’s Buleda area, a “high-value target”, who was responsible for killing innocent civilians, extortion, and atacking security forces, was eliminated, reports Geo News.