PML-N leader urges govt, protesters to rise above egos and hold talks

• Calls for timely efforts to resolve issues.
• Urges sides to avoid deaths and financial losses.
• Says Pakistan is suffering multiple crises.

LAHORE: PML-N leader Saad Rafique has urged the state and protesters to hold talks, saying timely efforts are needed to resolve issues and prevent further losses.

“Whenever there is an initiative, it is always the state that takes it. Take the initiative,” Rafique said on Sunday in a post on X, urging the government and protesters to rise above ego, stubbornness and factionalism.

“If there is an intention to resolve problems, a way will certainly be found,” he said.

Rafique warned both sides against viewing the confrontation as a contest, saying: “Remember, none of you will be the winner because everyone is losing.”

He also called for efforts to prevent loss of life and property, saying Pakistan was “groaning” under the pressure of inflation, unemployment, injustice and terrorism.

“If wounds are not treated in time, they turn into festering sores,” the PML-N leader said.

His remarks came after the PTI postponed its long march towards Islamabad by a week. Following the postponement, routes connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Islamabad began reopening.

Traffic on the GT Road at Khairabad in Attock was restored after four days, while the removal of obstacles from the Peshawar-Islamabad M-1 motorway was underway.

Sandbags, iron sheets and containers had been placed on the motorway to stop the PTI long march, while traffic at Punjab’s entry points in Taxila also returned to normal.

The Cpec route in Mianwali, however, remained closed, according to the information provided.

Despite the postponement of the September 27 march, the number of containers around Islamabad’s Red Zone increased.

A case was also registered over barriers being broken at Attock Bridge and thrown into the river, with 250 PTI workers nominated in the case. Several PTI workers were also detained, while authorities said action would be taken under the law over damage to state property.

The PTI had initially planned to hold its long march towards Islamabad on September 27, but KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi later announced that it had been postponed until October 4.

Afridi had also offered talks to the federal government, saying the issues could be resolved through mutual understanding.

Speaking to senior journalists in Peshawar, Afridi said: “If the federal government wants to resolve the issue within seven days, it should do so through mutual understanding.”

He questioned why the government would wait until the long march before holding talks, saying: “If negotiations have to be held after the long march, why not do them before?”

“We want the issue to be resolved,” the chief minister added.