PML-N's Rana Sanaullah to be booked under anti-terrorism laws: Fawad Chaudhry

• Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry warns politicians against giving threats to government officials.
• In media talk in Rawalpindi, federal minister says the state's write cannot be challenged.
• Says the TLP's movement is now over.

RAWALPINDI/ LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has announced that terrorism case will be registered against PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah.

Chaudhry was speaking to the media in Rawalpindi on Saturday. He said that Sanaullah had threatened the Punjab chief secretary, commissioner and other government officers a day earlier and a case would be registered against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act, for which instructions have been given.

No one can be allowed to threaten a government official and their family, Chaudhry said, adding that if someone wanted to play politics, they had to do so within the limits of the Constitution. 

Read more: Every effort to be made in future to prevent social media shutdown: Fawad

Pakistan's state is not a weak state at all, Chaudhry said, adding that the state's writ cannot be challenged.

He said people who threaten the government sometime become interested in becoming like the founder of the Muttahida Quami Movement.

Chaudhry clarified that there will be no more insulting talk about institutions and no more threats to government officials.

If someone blackmail institutions, he said, they will have to face action.

TLP is finished: Fawad Chaudhry

When asked about the the ban on TLP, Chaudhry said that the ban on TLP was a decision of the government and now the TLP was finished.

Meanwhile, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, too, spoke to the media about the TLP in Lahore on Saturday.

Read more: Have taken action against TLP because it challenged writ of state, says PM Imran Khan

Speaking about the nationwide protests by the religio-political group, Mahmood expressed said police officers were tortured and property was damaged.

He opined that matter could have been resolved through negotiations.

The federal minister said more than 600 police personnel were injured in the protests.

Daily routine across the country had been disrupted over the last few days as supporters of a religio-political party took to the streets and staged sit-ins and violent protests in major cities.

Read more: TLP banned - what does it mean?

At least three people lost their lives, including two policemen, during the ensuing skirmishes between protesters and law enforcement agencies. Hundreds of policemen were injured in attacks by the protesters, some seriously.

On Friday, the interior ministry had directed the telecom regulator to shut social networking sites from 11am till 3pm in a bid to maintain law and order in the country.  

PML-N responds

Responding to Chaudhry's statement, Sanaullah said the federal minister should not delay filing a case against him — and asked Chaudhry to become the plaintiff.

"I will stand by my position ... threats cannot hold me back," the PML-N leader said.

"You should compare (Chief of banned TLP) Saad Rizvi's statements to those made by me and then to those made by Imran Kahn, before you move to file a case under anti-terror laws against me," he added.

Similarly, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed PM Imran Khan was an absconder since 2014. The orders for his arrest were issued, she claimed, adding that "still, no arrests have been made".

"So, before you [launch a case against] Rana Sanullah, drop absconder Imran sahib off at the terrorism court," she said.