Govt vows not to allow ‘violent groups’ to reach capital

• Tarar says IHC ruling bars disruption of public movement, road closures • Protests may cost economy Rs120bn per day, Aurangzeb warns ISLAMABAD: Information Min­ister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday said the government would not allow any violent group to reach Islamabad or block roads, as ministers warned of the legal, economic and law-and-order consequences of upcoming protests by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami. Speaking to the media, Mr Tarar said the planned protests had both legal and administrative aspects, stressing that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had clearly ruled against road closures and disruption to public movement. He said it was now the responsibility of the administration to ens­ure that no such disruption took place. “No violent group will be all­owed to reach Islamabad,” he said.

“The administration, police, interior minister and entire government are absolutely clear” on the matter, he said, adding that protesters intending to cause disruption would not be allowed to reach the capital and roads would remain open. Mr Tarar said the government remained in contact with JI at different levels, including its top leadership. He described the party’s leaders as peaceful and flexible but stressed that the law applied equally to everyone and roads could not be blocked. The remarks come as PTI prepares for a nationwide protest and march towards Islamabad on Sept 27 to press for the release of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan, while JI has launched a protest campaign against the petroleum levy and plans to head towards the federal capital. Rs120bn daily loss feared Separately, Finance Minister Muha­mmad Aurangzeb warned that strikes, sit-ins, long marches and road closures could inflict an estimated Rs120 billion loss on the economy every day at…