‘Won’t let them return if they come as terrorists,’ warns minister ahead of Islamabad protest

• Talal says government will enforce IHC order.
• Junaid says PTI will use multiple routes.
• PTI leader vows protesters will reach Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Sunday warned that those resorting to “terrorism” during a planned protest in Islamabad would not be allowed to return, while PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar said the party would reach the federal capital through multiple routes.

“If you are a peaceful citizen, come to Islamabad from any route, come 100 times,” Chaudhry said, warning that those who came “as terrorists” would not be allowed to return, as PTI is set to march to Islamabad on September 27.

The minister said the government would fully implement the Islamabad High Court’s orders and would not tolerate any unlawful action.

“No illegal action will be tolerated,” he said, adding that no activity posing a threat to life and property would be allowed in Islamabad.

Chaudhry also criticised the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying those planning the protest had failed to stop terrorism in the province and had been unable to ensure adequate health and education facilities.

“They say they will turn Islamabad into ruins. We know they have turned KP into ruins,” he said.

“We will not allow this kind of thinking to move forward,” Chaudhry added, saying that the PTI leadership had itself revealed what he described as its “real plan”.

Meanwhile, addressing a workers’ convention in Mardan, Junaid said PTI workers would march towards Islamabad through multiple routes.

“We will go to Islamabad, and not through just one route,” Junaid said, adding that party workers would use the motorway and GT Road.

“We will also descend from the Margalla Hills and come from Dera Ismail Khan,” he said.

Junaid recalled PTI’s previous protest, saying workers had returned with the bodies of their colleagues.

“Last time, we brought our dead bodies with us,” he said, adding that the party had not been in a position to protest at the time.

“This time, it will not happen that we bury our dead and remain silent,” Junaid said.

He also said PTI would turn Islamabad into “ruins”.