Political norms: Democracy only way forward, says Saad Rafique

Minister blames PTI for Friday stampede in Multan

LAHORE: Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday those who had supported a sham referendum by former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf to validate his constitutional rule were now staging sit-ins.

The minister was addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club.

He said democracy was the only way for achieving prosperity, stability and development.

He said some international powers had been plotting against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for making Pakistan a nuclear state.

The minister said every Pakistani was grieved over Friday’s stampede in Multan in which seven people were killed.

He criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan for not visiting on Friday those injured in the incident at the PTI rally. He said the PTI leadership had arranged for music at the meeting but not provided drinking water for its participants.

Rafique accused the PTI of lacking the skills to arrange safe public gatherings. He said Imran Khan, too, had been injured in a fall from a stage during a rally before the May 2013 general elections.

The minister called for getting rid of politics through hate speech. He said Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi should change their attitude.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2014.