Govt to handle PDM march 'politely' if law not taken into hands: Rashid

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Monday that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)'s long march to Islamabad will be dealt with 'politely' if the opposition alliance refrained from converging on the federal capital and creating a law and order situation.

The minister's remarks came while he was addressing a function at the Police Line Headquarters, Islamabad."If the PDM does not take the law into its own hands, then there will be no obstacles from our side," the interior minister stated.Earlier in the day, it was reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif had begun making contacts with the leaders of opposition parties in a fresh bid to build a joint front against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

All set to table electoral reforms bill in Parliament’s joint sittingSheikh Rashid Ahmad said that all the coalition government partners were unanimous to pass the electoral reforms bill that would be tabled in a joint sitting of the parliament, scheduled to be held on Wednesday.“

All the coalition partners including Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan have agreed on the bills [related EVMs and I-voting] to be tabled in the joint session of the Parliament,” he said while talking to media persons after a meeting at the Prime Minister House.

The minister said it was the dream of Prime Minister Imran Khan of introducing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the elections as it would ensure transparency and resolve the issue of mistrust in the electoral system.

Sheikh Rashid said Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz, and Advisor to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan always briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan in every cabinet meeting on EVMs.

Read PDM trying to obstruct country’s progress: Fawad

He said the PM Imran Khan had answered all questions of the coalition partners in today’s meeting.

Talking to the media persons, he said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had reaffirmed the commitment of his government to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country.

Sheikh Rashid fully endorsed the idea of using electronic voting machines (EVMs) as Prime Minister truly said that this device would resolve the issue of mistrust in the electoral system.

He said that the prime minister always spoke in favour of transparent elections while he expressed his displeasure over the electoral system since 1970.

He made it clear that the prime minister was enjoying the support of members’ parliament of his own party and allied political parties.

He said that all members of the government and allied parties had one agenda that was changing the lives of the common man.

Sheikh Rashid said the government was taking sincere steps to improve the professional capabilities of Islamabad Police. He said that police were a frontline force and added that it was necessary to keep the morale of the force high.

The minister directed the police officials of ICT to boost the morale of their subordinates which was also necessary for improving the performance of the police. He said that efforts were being made to include additional 2,000 policemen in Islamabad Police.

He said that the MoU had been signed with the Punjab government for the start of the ‘1122 service’ in the federal capital.The minister said that the air patrolling unit of the ICT police, which consisted of high-tech drones and locators for live surveillance and tracking purposes, would initially patrol areas with high rates of burglaries, robberies, snatching, street crimes, and auto theft.

He said that apart from airborne tracking and surveillance, it would also be responsible for providing additional support to the on-ground patrol and specialized teams of the ICT Police.He said that while equipping the ICT Police with the latest technology, they would significantly be able to ensure the safety of the public, decrease the crime rate, and consolidate the overall security of the federal capital.

He said that ICT Police would be made the model and most advanced police force in the country as they had adopted modern technology to tackle crimes, automate different processes, making the city safer for both residents and visitors.He added the ICT Police were facing more challenges as handling daily protests was not an easy task.

He said that the ICT police had also installed security cameras across the capital under the Safe City project.He said that all heirs of the martyred police personnel would be covered under the package. He assured to increase the salaries of Islamabad Police besides starting a housing project for them.(With inputs from APP)