PM vows to bring perpetrators to justice

Kakar distributes cheques among affected families of Jaranwala incident

JARANWALA:

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday assured all the minority communities in the country that the government was committed to protecting their lives and properties, vowing to bring the perpetrators of the heinous attacks against them to justice.

Addressing a gathering of the Christian community members here, he said, “We are the followers of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and the Founder of the Nation (Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah), and it is also binding upon us under the Constitution, which encourages us to respond to such atrocities.”

The prime minister said that they would never condone the persecutors of minorities, stressing that if anyone caused harm to the minorities, the law of the country would take its course by ensuring that such like incidents did not happen in the future.

The entire society and the government would not cower down before the dark forces but would stand shoulder to shoulder with the victim communities, he said, adding that they would become the voice of the voiceless with tangible and meaningful support.

“Our actions will speak louder than our speeches,” PM Kakar said.

The prime minister arrived here to express solidarity with the victim families of the Christian community.
Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, caretaker federal ministers, senior officials and members of the Christian community were present on the occasion.

PM Kakar said that the minorities in Pakistan were struggling for the protection of the rights of their communities across the region, adding that the people who had attacked the Christian community in the area were the enemies of humanity.

He said that they were assuring them of the government’s support not out of any compulsion, but due to their conviction.

The incident that occurred in the area alluded to a pervasive issue in the society which had been experiencing extremism, radicalism, and aggressive behaviour, and manifested that such behaviour did not belong to any religion, sect or group rather indicated an innate human behaviour which spread like a cancerous disease, he opined.

The prime minister regretted the unfortunate incident that occurred after the caretaker government took oath.

Speaking on the occasion, the Punjab governor said that such incidents should be curbed and let not recur, adding the places of worships were worth respected and the regard for all communities should be maintained.

The chief minister, on the occasion, said that the main culprits were already in the custody.

He assured that the damaged churches would be restored while the compensation cheques would be handed over to all the affected families.

Earlier, the prime minister also distributed cheques among the affected families.

During his visit to a church, the prime minister reiterated that they would not allow anyone to target the minorities on the basis of religious differences, adding the government, with full might, would stop the hands of aggressors.

Separately, a two-member investigation team comprising deputy inspectors general of police Abdul Ghaffar Qaisrani and Faisal Ali Raja inspected the incident site in Jaranwala.

The investigation team was briefed by the concerned police officers about the incident.