Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Friday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government stands by the weaker sections of the society against the powerful people.
“If our prime minister cannot stand by weaker Pakistanis, then we have no right to remain in power,” he said while addressing a joint press conference along with Minister for Commerce Razaq Daud. He defended the prime minister’s public criticism of Pakistan’s ambassadors, saying he stands with the working class and not the elite. “I am surprised at the PML-N for criticising the prime minister’s speech to ambassadors,” he said.
He said the overseas Pakistanis have shown great trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan as remittances from Pakistanis abroad have touched record high and they are playing an important role in rebuilding of the national economy.
Fawad Chaudhry questioned why action shouldn’t be taken against foreign service officials for instances of blocking Pakistani labourers access to the embassies. “There are incidents where embassy officials placed rocks and blocked routes to (Pakistani) embassies so labour could not enter. Should proceedings not be initiated against them?” he asked.
He said that the details of events which had caused Prime Minister Imran Khan to address the country’s ambassadors and point out their mistakes should be examined. He added that in one instance, an embassy which is currently under investigation, had mishandled the case of a woman being continuously raped while working at someone’s home. The minister said that the victim had approached the embassy to seek help. “However, the officer present had told her off by saying: ‘You’ve already had three divorces before. Why don’t I hand you over to the police?’ This response led her to go back to the house,” he said. “If Pakistan’s prime minister doesn’t talk about this behaviour, then who will? If the government and the prime minister can’t stand with the working class and the poor, then what right do we have to remain in government?” he asked. Speaking about the prime minister’s trip to Saudi Arabia, Chaudhry said it would strengthen ties between the two brotherly countries. “PM Imran Khan desires peaceful relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Mohammed bin Salman has also spoken about improving ties among Muslim countries,” he added. Speaking about the NA-249 by-poll, Chaudhry said the PML-N and other opposition parties’ move to challenge the by-election’s verdict was welcome news. He called on the opposition to sit with the government on national issues and present their point of view. “I once again urge the opposition to demonstrate seriousness on the issue of electoral reforms,” he said.
He said all this controversy was due to opposition parties’ refusal to adopt a serious approach for reformation of the electoral process. He said opposition leaders should realize the court cases against them were a separate issue. He gave the good news to the media that the cabinet had given approval to the Journalist Protection Act which would prove a landmark legislation for the welfare and better working environment for the working journalists. He said a new institution would be set up for redressal of journalists’ complaints.
