ISLAMABAD, June 23 (APP): Minister for Information,
Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said
on Thursday that PTI Chairman knew that masses would not vote for his party in the general election, so he was threatening to hold street protest.
“Those fearing defeat in the coming general election,
are talking about street agitation and sit ins,” he said while talking to reporters here after attending a function arranged in honour of children suffering from thalassemia.
He said Imran Khan had claimed in the past that the
entire country would be paralysed on his strike call, but no city, not even a single street was paralyzed. Imran had asked the nation neither to pay utility bills nor send remittances through the banks, but nobody paid any heed to his call.
“No city of the country will be paralyzed on Imran’s call,
as the people themselves had elected PML N in 2013 general election and it has been serving them.”
Those demanding accountability have their own offshore
companies, he said adding Imran Khan whitened black money in 2002 while there was no mention of Nawaz Sharif in Panama papers.
He said that Imran Khan on the one hand expected
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to join him at street protests and on the
other hand the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had given Rs 300 million grant to the seminary which reportedly had links with the killers of Benazir Bhutto.
Bilawal Bhutto who had got political acumen from his mother
should know whether Imran Khan was with the son of Benazir Bhutto or her killers, the minister said.
The PML N government had controlled power loadshedding, revived
economy and made major achievements in war against terrorism.
On its performance, the people of Pakistan wanted to
re elect PML N in the coming general election and this thought
was giving its opponents sleepless nights, he said.
The minister said the PML N government after coming to power
in 2013 general election has served the masses and they would vote for the party in the coming elections again.
“If the opponents of PML N could remove the government
from power through democratic means of holding elections, they would never have planned street agitation,” he said.
The minister said that if they had backing of the
people, they would not have wasted time in hot weather. But they
knew they did not have peoples’ support to defeat the PML N through democratic means, he added.
To a question, the minister said the government had
included all issues being raised by Imran Khan and other opposition leaders in its terms of reference (TORs), they should accept its TORs so the accountability process could begin.
To a question, the minister said that Amjad Sabri was
ambassador of love and peace not only in Pakistan but at the global level. He had used his voice and music for spreading love and tolerance.
“Sabri did not use his art for
spreading hatred and violence, rather he spread true message of Islam through his voice,” the minister said adding that his killers were enemies of Islam and they will have to be answerable to this world and on the day of judgement.
The minister said that the people of Karachi had acknowledged that the city of the Quaid had become more peaceful and secure in the recent past.
However he said that the terrorists who were defeated in Operation Zarb-e-Azb and operations in other parts of the country were trying to target known figures to prove their presence, but they would not be allowed to regroup.
He attributed the success of operation against terrorists to the sacrifices of Pakistan Army, Rangers, police, security agencies
and the media.
Replying to a question, the minister said that th prime minister’s health was improving with every passing day and during his stay in London he was holding meetings for four to five hours.
He said the prime minister was getting briefings and issuing directives to the government departments through his staff.
He said the prime minister would have checkup next week and then the decision about his returning home would be taken in consultation with his doctors.
He said that PML-N workers wanted to give the Prime Minister historic welcome on his return and he would convey this proposal to top leadership of the party and the Prime Minister himself.
He said that the prime ministere had never gone on vacations and despite his surgery he was fulfilling his responsibilities even from London.
He said that media should play its role in creating awareness among the masses about deadly diseases like thalassemia.
He said that after the 18th Amendment health sector funds had
been transferred to the provinces but Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was catering to the needs of tens of thousands of patients from different provinces.
He appreciated the management and staff of PIMS for catering to the needs of over 2 million patients though its capacity was to serve the 800,000 city population.
Earlier in his address, the minister stressed the need for taking steps to prevent thalassemia. Special programmes and television dramas would be produced to create awareness through information, he
added.
He said that print, electronic and social media have to play their role in creating awareness among the people.
He said that Ulema and religious scholars should also educate the people about the benefits of blood screening before marriage as this was the best possible way to prevent the disease.
