Hawkers’ moot: Imran doing dishonesty with Pakistan, says Rashid

Says forces wanting to create anarchy should wait for one year more

MURREE: Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid said on Thursday that Imran Khan was not doing politics; rather he was doing dishonesty with Pakistan.

Addressing the oath taking ceremony of All Pakistan Newspapers Hawkers Federation, he asked why those organising sit-in on September 3, were not holding Pervez Musharraf accountable.

He said that nobody asked Pervaiz Musharraf as to where the money he received from the United States for fighting Afghan war had gone. “Did anybody ask Musharraf to explain where he had spent the billions of dollars taken from foreign countries,” he asked.

He said after general election 2013, the PML-N had respected the mandate of all political parties and did not create any hurdle in the formation of government by majority parties, but hurdles were being created in the path of the PML-N government.

He said the people of Pakistan would carry out accountability through vote in 2018, when the election would be contested on the basis of truth and performance.

Forces wanting to create anarchy should wait for one year more as they had tolerated the PML-N government for over three years, Rashid said.

He said that election campaign would start next year and the political parties would contest polls on the basis of performance.

Regarding the issues the hawkers face, the minister said that the government will take possible measures.

He said the Newspapers Hawkers Federation’s demands would be examined and steps would be taken for resolving their problems.

He suggested that the federation may take help from the state-run facilities like Health Insurance Scheme, Employees Old-age Benefits Institution and the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

He said that the cabinet had decided to expand the scope of BISP in future to assist more low income families.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2016.