Media talk: Nobody can shut down country, says Pervaiz Rashid

Says govt will not budge against tactics being adopted by Imran Khan

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervaiz Rashid, taking strong exception to the call made by PTI chief Imran Khan about closing different cities and finally the country, said this would not be allowed.

“No single person or group of people can be allowed to deprive people of their right to continue with normal routine life for mere satisfaction of inflated whims,” he said talking to the media during the Sideline Conference (Industry Summit), IDEAS 2014, on Thursday.

The minister said people would not allow Imran Khan to play with the fate of the country. He also expressed his reservations about Imran Khan’s choice of cities – Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore – which were also targeted by India in the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Rashid said all nefarious designs are bound to fail as the national level political parties are on the same page and only today parliament is in the process to have a unanimously chosen chief election commissioner for the country.

He said any dialogue with Imran Khan would be possible once he reviews his approach towards sacred institutions of the country, particularly judiciary.

He said the government would not budge against tactics being adopted by Imran Khan.

Earlier speaking at the Sideline Conference, he said that Pakistan is committed to defending and preserving its territorial integrity, sovereignty and dignity and the PML-N government considers it a sacred duty.

The event was organised by South Asian Strategic Studies Institute as part of IDEAS 2014, in coordination with Defence Export Promotion Organisation, defence ministry and armed forces.

The minister said that Pakistan is a peace loving country. “Yet we want to send a clear message that any attack on our sovereignty will have crippling consequences for the aggressor,” he said.

The information minister reaffirmed that Pakistan’s nuclear programme and conventional forces are geared merely to deter any aggression.

He appreciated the armed forces, security agencies, police and public servants for their resolute fight against terrorism.

“We are eternally grateful to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, while defending us and our values,” he said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2014.