TLP riots: PM Imran Khan to address nation

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Friday that Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the nation tomorrow or the day after to shed light on the government’s stance on violent protests by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TLP).

Briefing the media about the decisions taken in today’s meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), the minister said the top national security body decided to establish the writ of the state at any cost and not to shut the door on talks with the outfit.

He said the meeting that lasted two hours pondered the overall security situation in the country as well as talks with the TLP. The Rangers called in Punjab under Article 147 has been handed over the province’s security with the police working under the paramilitary force, he added.

The meeting was attended by ministers, the national security adviser and the services and intelligence chiefs.

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Rasheed further said he and Religious Affairs Minister Noor Ul Haq Qadri will possibly meet TLP leaders again this evening, calling upon them to halt their march towards Islamabad and wait for the outcome of talks. “We want to settle the matter cordially,” he maintained.

It is noteworthy that a deadlock persists between the government and the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) as the second round of talks concluded without any progress the other day.