After three days of violent demonstrations after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was detained in the Al-Qadir Trust case, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah declared on Saturday that the only choice left is to put a ban on the party.
His comments come a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) gave the PTI leader a broad reprieve, prohibiting officials from detaining him in any circumstance till May 15 (Monday).
"Taking a position against armed groups is crucial. The interior minister stated during a news conference in Islamabad that the only choice left was to put a ban on the PTI.
He said that if the opposition party "did not change its attitude," the coalition government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would be forced to take drastic measures to ban it.
According to Sanaullah, the PTI chief's primary goal is to wreak havoc and disorder nationwide.
The minister said that PTI workers and supporters vandalized government buildings and stormed military sites around the country during the violent protests.
"The government will bring these ‘gangs’ to book. They [miscreants] will be identified through CCTV cameras and rounded up one by one," he added.
Sanaullah also criticized the courts for providing PTI Chairman Imran Khan relief, claiming that everything would have been under control if Imran Khan hadn't received it.
After visiting the Corps Commander House in Lahore, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf demonstrators had vandalized, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the Punjab government to act quickly and arrest the perpetrators within 72 hours. The Interior Minister's news conference followed this.
During the two-day violent demonstrations, at least ten people died and several more were injured. Internet connectivity was also halted nationwide for more than 72 hours.
After his imprisonment, Imran Khan's followers increased the stakes by targeting military targets, torching the corps commander's home in Lahore, and the entrance to the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi. Khan has previously lambasted the military.
His comments come a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) gave the PTI leader a broad reprieve, prohibiting officials from detaining him in any circumstance till May 15 (Monday).
"Taking a position against armed groups is crucial. The interior minister stated during a news conference in Islamabad that the only choice left was to put a ban on the PTI.
He said that if the opposition party "did not change its attitude," the coalition government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would be forced to take drastic measures to ban it.
According to Sanaullah, the PTI chief's primary goal is to wreak havoc and disorder nationwide.
The minister said that PTI workers and supporters vandalized government buildings and stormed military sites around the country during the violent protests.
"The government will bring these ‘gangs’ to book. They [miscreants] will be identified through CCTV cameras and rounded up one by one," he added.
Sanaullah also criticized the courts for providing PTI Chairman Imran Khan relief, claiming that everything would have been under control if Imran Khan hadn't received it.
After visiting the Corps Commander House in Lahore, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf demonstrators had vandalized, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the Punjab government to act quickly and arrest the perpetrators within 72 hours. The Interior Minister's news conference followed this.
During the two-day violent demonstrations, at least ten people died and several more were injured. Internet connectivity was also halted nationwide for more than 72 hours.
After his imprisonment, Imran Khan's followers increased the stakes by targeting military targets, torching the corps commander's home in Lahore, and the entrance to the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi. Khan has previously lambasted the military.