Matters of concern: PAT slams govt’s slow response in Yemen

LHC’s decision to hold party-based elections lauded.

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s Central Working Committee held a meeting on Monday to discuss the evacuation of Pakistani families from Yemen.

The committee slammed the government for not acting promptly. It also urged the government to use all options to ensure their safe exit. The participants at the meeting expressed concern at the slow pace of extradition of Pakistanis from Yemen.

Addressing the meeting, Dr Hassan Mohiyuddin said the government must ensure the safety of all stranded Pakistanis. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have to shoulder the blame if any untoward incident took place.  He demanded that the government give out details of the number of Pakistanis stranded in Yemen.

Commenting on the recently announced LNG project, the participants said if the government was not going to get any kickbacks from the project, it should have made details of the project public by now.

The participants said a prayer for PAT chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri’s quick recovery. They slammed the provincial government’s failure to form an impartial Joint Investigation Team on the Model Town violence. They vowed that they will not rest in peace till the culprits of the incident were brought to justice.

They also chalked out a plan for the party’s participation in the local government election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They considered the possibility of seeking support from “like-minded” parties for the polls. The participants lauded the Lahore High Court’s ruling that polls in cantonments be held on party basis.

They expressed concern over prices of petroleum products. They said that the price of oil in the international market had plummeted but the impact it should have had was not reflected in the price of petrol in Pakistan.

They passed a resolution condemning the case registered against Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza and demanded immediate withdrawal of the case. The participants demanded that the government not use the National Action Plan as a cover for its political agenda. They also expressed concern over the frequent power load shedding. “The government’s tall claims will be completely exposed in the sweltering summer months of June and July,” Dr Mohiyuddin said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2015.