Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said the rise of ‘extremist parties’ like JUI-F and TLP in the country would be a ‘downfall’ of the country, expressing his disappointment at the results of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Local Government polls.

He was briefing reporters about the decisions taken in the federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad when asked about the recent election results.

“I am personally disappointed with the K-P LG elections results. When we see the rise of TLP or JUI-F… by this situation Pakistan will go towards a downfall. It will harm Pakistan,” he said.

According to the provisional results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday, the JUI-F has managed to bag 15 seats of mayor/chairman in 43 tehsils out of 64 in the first phase of the K-P LG polls.

The information minister termed the PTI a national party of the country, saying that if there was no PTI then there would be no national party in the country. “If JUI-F is a replacement of PTI then Pakistan’s people have to think.”

He lamented that because of the party’s mistake a party like JUI-F has been "noticed" when it should have “ended.”

“I am disappointed as such parties [JUI-F and TLP] are a sign of retrogressive society. This shows everything is not right in Pakistan. Such parties are against freedom and women’s rights. It’s not good for society. It’s unfortunate that Fazlur Rehman is coming to power.”

He added the PTI would learn from its mistakes and make itself disciplined and advised party workers to compromise their “small interests.”

Taking a jibe at PML-N and PPP, he said that “dwarfs” in such parties think about elevating their rank after the defeat of PTI.

Cabinet briefing

Fawad said the ministers of science and technology and IT have been directed to “immediately” meet the ECP commissioner for the procurement of Electronic Voting Machines for the LG polls in Islamabad.

The information minister claimed that all the economic indicators were showing “positive signs”. He quoted the massive production of staple crops and vehicles.

He accused the PML-N of leaving the country in such a state where the incumbent government has to pay $55 billion worth of debt in five years. “The PML-N signed wrong agreements with IPPs.”

“150,000 companies – out of 200,000 registered with the SECP – were formed over the last three years,” he said while claiming that the country was heading in the right direction.