No reservations on any TLP demand except expulsion of French ambassador: Sheikh Rasheed

• Sheikh Rasheed says Pakistan may face problems if it accepts the demand of shutting down the French embassy.
• Hopes TLP leadership will call off its sit-in as the government has accepted its major demands.
• Adds that TLP had promised to open up all roads by midnight but have yet to do so.
  

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Tuesday said that the government is in agreement with all of the demands put forth by the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) except for the one seeking to shut down the French embassy.

"We have various constraints regarding the matter of French ambassador,” said Rasheed while briefing the media about the progress of the dialogue with the banned outfit.

The minister said that “there is huge pressure on Pakistan” regarding the TLP’s demand related to the French embassy.

“Pakistan may face various issues if we send the French ambassador packing," he said.

Rasheed expressed the hope that the banned outfit would call off its sit-in protest as the government had accepted its major demands.

"We want them to review their demand related to the French embassy,” the interior minister said.

He told the media that a report on the dialogue with the TLP leadership had been submitted to the prime minister which was also discussed in a meeting held today in the presence of civil and military leadership besides chief secretaries and inspector generals of police.

The meeting had shown willingness to accept all the demands of TLP, said Rasheed.

He said that the TLP had promised to open all roads by this midnight but they haven’t done so.

“We are waiting for this as we have no reservations on any of their demands except for the one related to the French embassy," the minister said.

“I will make contact with them once again today and tomorrow also. I want a permanent solution to this issue and I want to wind up this matter rather than for it to linger on further,” he said.

He hoped that the TLP leadership would understand the situation as enemies were hatching conspiracies against Pakistan to impose sanctions while many Pakistanis were working abroad.

Rasheed said it was their sixth sit-in as, on November 8, 2017, they held their first sit-in while the second one was held in August 2018, the third in November 2018, the fourth was about the boycott of French products while the fifth one was arranged in April this year.

He made it clear that the government was making sincere efforts to get positive results from these talks.

“We want peace in the country. It is our endeavour to settle all the matters with TLP as early as possible through dialogue.”

He said that the majority of their workers had been released while the government was ready to discuss the issue of the remaining workers who were in jail, besides the matter of the fourth schedule.

Rasheed said despite the martyrdom of two policemen and 70 other injured, including two in critical condition, the government still wanted to resolve the issue with mutual understanding and cooperation.

Soaring inflation

The minister said the government was working on several options to control inflation on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said inflation was interlinked with increasing oil prices in the international markets and that several countries of the world were facing the same issue.