Declaring everyone a 'traitor' dangerous for the country: Mohsin Dawar.

ISLAMABAD -- MNA and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar on Thursday said the trend of declaring everyone as a "traitor" should be stopped, terming it a "dangerous project" for the country.

He was speaking in the National Assembly a day after he was released from jail, where he was detained for a day. Dawar and 28 others were arrested from outside Islamabad's National Press Club on Tuesday where they had gathered to stage a protest against the arrest of PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen.

"Those who have launched the project of declaring everyone in the country as a traitor should be stopped. Otherwise, a time will come when the whole nation, except a few government officers, will be declared traitors," he said in his address to the lower house.

Dawar said Manzoor Pashteen was arrested on January 27, two days after Defence Minister Pervez Khattak offered to hold a dialogue with the group.

"Who is running the affairs of the country? We are being labelled as traitors," he said, noting that similar charges were levelled against people like Bacha Khan, Wali Khan, Asfandyar Wali Khan, GM Syed, Fatima Jinnah and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

"The charges against these people have never been proven in any court of law. The only person convicted under treason charges is [former military ruler retired] Gen Pervez Musharraf.

"When he (Musharraf) was convicted the spokesman for an institution questioned the conviction. This is a dangerous thing. Whosoever opposes the Constitution is a traitor."

Dawar said he was among the 29 people who were arrested from outside the press club while protesting against Pashteen arrest. "The policeman who dragged me and put me in the vehicle was raising slogans of 'Islam Zindabad' and 'Death to India'.

"What kind of mindset is being developed? Now we are being declared disbelievers as well. We were very good Muslims when we were being used in the Afghan jihad," he said.

The lawmaker noted that workers of the (now ruling) PTI had attacked Parliament House and the PTV offices and...

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