Daily Times

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry Sunday said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was united and no crisis-like situation existed with the party.

“Differences do emerge within parties. However, there is no crisis in PTI and the whole party is united under the leadership of Imran Khan,” the minister told a press conference here. “There is no administrative crisis in the country, rather it is the societal one as some elements want to gain political benefits in the name of religion,” he added.

The minister said the first-ever crisis which the PTI government faced was the repayment of loans. “About 84 per cent of the total loans were acquired by the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz governments. The country would not have needed to beg had the huge loans been recovered from these two parties,” he said, adding that when corruption was brought under discussion in the parliament, the opposition got disturbed the whole atmosphere. “However, it will be an injustice to the voters if the PTI government did not take up the issue. Without holding the powerful accountable, justice cannot be ensured in the country,” he maintained.

Replying to a question, the minister said Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who remained head of Kashmir committee for many years, never protested about Indian atrocities against the people of Held Kashmir. “All is well for the Maulana if he is in the government, and everything is bad for him if he is not part of the government,” he said.

To a question, Fawad said it is strange that the degree of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore director general was valid when he recovered Rs 4.5 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but turned into a fake one when he arrested Shehbaz Sharif.

To another query, he said the prime minister had given clear instructions that the anti-encroachment operation should not be carried out in slums as well as localities where the poor live.

The minister said it was the responsibility of people at the helm of affairs to take ownership of the ideological narrative. He said a state which did not protect the rights of the minorities could not be one like the State of Madina. “With the grace of Allah Almighty, Pakistan will become a progressive and welfare country,” he added.

Responding to a query about the advertisements, he said the previous government used ads for corruption and for personal projection. He announced providing health cards worth Rs 487,000 to media persons registered with the journalist organizations.

The minister said the PTI must get chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee as it was illogical that the younger brother is assigned the task of conducting audit of the projects carried out by the elder brother.

Fawad said the birth anniversary of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) would be celebrated at the government level with great reverence. Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the Rehmatul-lil-Aalmeen Conference on November 20 while President Dr Arif Alvi will be chief guest at its concluding session on November 21. The Imam-e-Ka’aba and other personalities including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mufti of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will attend the conference and shed light on different aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Earlier, addressing a seminar titled ‘Adam Bardasht Ka Rujhan Aur Riyasat ki Zummadariyan’, Fawad said the war of ideologies can never be fought with guns, rather it could be won only through arguments and dialogue. Unfortunately those spreading rifts and disharmony in the society were devoid of any logic, he said, adding that the PTI government will extend support to all those ulema, mashaikh and religious leaders who advocated peace, tolerance and harmony in the society through logic and dialogue.

The minister said the country was faced with an ideological crisis which was evident from the situation that arose due to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Asia Bibi case. “It was not an institutional or state crisis, but social intolerance, which served the interests of those who wanted to achieve their political motives in the name of religion,” he said. The religious circles, he said, should have rebelled against those who created chaotic situation in the country in the name of religion. “But unfortunately, it did not happen in case of Pakistan and the country had to suffer for long due to war in neighbouring Afghanistan, which cast negative impacts on the ideology and thought of its people towards the State.”

Published in Daily Times, November  12^th 2018.