Sanaullah: “Toxic politics spread like a virus.” 2023

Friday, Pakistan’s Minister of State for the Interior, Rana Sanaullah, stated that toxic politics, similar to an infectious virus, found fruitful ground in society and disseminated their negative effects.

The minister emphasized at a press conference in Islamabad that ‘politics full of animosity’ permeates all aspects of society, influencing people’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

“This politics of hatred has been practiced for an entire year,” he emphasized, adding that opponents were subjected to verbal abuse and derogatory monikers in an effort to cultivate cynicism towards them.

This divisive political strategy has been injected into the Pakistani populace, where it has spread like a contagion, with both internal and external support.

As part of this strategy, a plan to besiege Islamabad on May 25 and seize the capital was developed.

“False murder stories were invented,”

Rana Sanaullah added that individuals were even trained to construct gasoline explosives. Slamming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief he said,

“Imran Khan is to blame for this disorder and will bring suffering to the nation.”

Referring to the tragic events of May 9, Rana stated, “He [Imran Khan] even blamed himself and his own party for that”

The minister of the interior disclosed that 499 First Information Reports (FIRs) were lodged in relation to the incidents.

“Of these, 88 were filed under the Terrorist Act, while the remaining 411 were filed for other offenses,” he continued.

He also disclosed that 9,946 people have been arrested under section 80A, with Punjab accounting for 2,588 arrests and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for 1,000 detentions.