Govt cannot be pressured into accepting demands by holding the state 'hostage', says Sanaullah on PTI march

Political Adviser to the Prime Minister, Rana Sanaullah, cautioned on Wednesday that governments cannot be coerced into accepting demands by holding the state hostage and sparking political turmoil. Addressing journalists in Islamabad, Sanaullah emphasized that the government would not allow discussions with the opposition to be leveraged as "tools" for political gain.

He reiterated that dialogue doors remain open, echoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's plea to PTI leadership to engage in talks and abandon their protest plans. However, Sanaullah firmly stated that negotiations could not be employed to bully the government into submission. He deemed the PTI's actions as "successful" in disrupting peace and lamented that politics had morphed into a culture of personal attacks and intolerance.

Sanaullah reflected on the PTI's history of protests in Islamabad, stretching back to 2022 and 2024. He underscored the recent surge in terrorism incidents, highlighting that victims included children, civilians, and soldiers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He denounced the behavior of the KP government, which he termed "unacceptable," as they played traditional music and chanted slogans while urging citizens to participate in a march to Islamabad.

Sanaullah firmly criticized the government's conduct, stating that the people in the province had also expressed disapproval.