Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said the government could have avoided the emergency if the parties had reached an agreement during negotiations. Speaking in the Senate, he said nobody wanted the government to impose emergency rule. He added that the talks initially focused on terrorism rather than political disputes.
Naqvi said the negotiations covered seven to eight points related to terrorism. According to him, PTI leader Asad Qaiser assured the government that his party would support Pakistan on these issues. However, Naqvi said Qaiser held a different position from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. He stressed that the parties had not discussed political matters at the start.
The interior minister said the government accepted six proposed changes during the fourth round of negotiations. After both sides reached an understanding, officials prepared a written agreement and sent it to the provincial chief minister. Naqvi claimed the chief minister forwarded the text to Murad Saeed, which derailed two days of negotiations.
Naqvi also defended the government’s approach to counterterrorism. He said soldiers and police officers continued to sacrifice their lives while political leaders delivered speeches against the security forces. He maintained that the government had never linked political disagreements with terrorism. When journalists asked about Murad Saeed’s whereabouts, Naqvi said he had relevant information and would share it later.
Discussing the November 2024 protests, Naqvi said the government had considered emergency rule and governor’s rule on November 26. He claimed officials offered PTI a designated protest location on November 25. However, he said the party demanded a telephone conversation with its founder before postponing the sit-in. Naqvi added that divisions within the party complicated the discussions.
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The minister said PTI leaders later demanded a video message from their imprisoned founder. According to Naqvi, the government waited two hours while the party discussed the recording. He claimed the founder then requested his lawyers before recording the message. Naqvi said officials informed the prime minister and president about the delays as the protest continued.
Responding to Senator Raja Nasir Abbas’s concerns about constitutional violations, Naqvi said representatives from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party had reviewed the relevant provisions. He maintained that the government had not violated the Constitution. However, he acknowledged that people could disagree with the decision and debate whether the action was appropriate.