Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Amidst the political fiasco in Pakistan, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed reached Pakistan from UAE on Saturday morning to negotiate with the protestors and handle the security situation after receiving a call from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, the present situation of Pakistan under the PTI-led government is quite severe as it is undergoing massive protests not only from the side of Opposition parties but also a banned organization has staged separate protests in various cities of the country to demand the release of their leader Saad Rizvi.

Earlier, the interior minister had gone to the UAE to watch the thriller Pakistan-India T20 World Cup match on Sunday. While speaking to reporters a few days ago, Rasheed had said PM Imran Khan had granted him a two-day holiday to watch the game live in the UAE.

But with the increasing chaos in the country, the minister arrived in Islamabad urgently via the Airblue flight PA-213 from Sharjah today.

Govt forms committee to talk with proscribed outfit

A day earlier, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar had declared that the provincial government had decided to form a committee to talk with the banned organisation as the outfit staged protests.

“We have formed a committee, consisting of senior members of the Punjab Cabinet Raja Basharat and Chaudhry Zaheeruddin to negotiate with the banned organisation.” Buzdar had tweeted.

“According to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PUBH), we all need to work together for peace and harmony in the country,” he added.

Opposition initiates separate protests

On Friday, the opposition parties had started their protests in various cities across Pakistan to put pressure on the government following high inflation in the country.

After the call to protest was given by the Opposition, protesters took to the streets in Karachi, Larkana, Lahore, Sukkur, Mardan, Jacobabad, Mohmand, Ziarat, Mingora and other cities of the country.

People had chanted slogans against the government and rising inflation. Traffic at the Quetta-Chaman highway remained suspended for several hours due to the rally.

In Karachi, the demonstration had started near the Empress Market area, due to which the surrounding roads had to be sealed.

In Lahore, PML-N members had staged a protest at the Jain Mandir Chowk while carrying utility bills and pieces of rotis (bread) in their hands.

Similarly, party members in Muzaffargarh had started a protest rally from Central Jamia Masjid to Qanwan Chowk. Members of the Jamaat-e-Islami had also staged a protest in front of the Muzaffargarh Press Club.