Pervaiz Rashid greets Imran on becoming ‘Jiyala’ of Bilawal

Says those filing references against govt were incompetent

RAWALPINDI: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday that those filing references against the government were themselves incompetent. He also congratulated Imran Khan for becoming a Jiyala of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The minister said in the civilised world, decisions are made through ballot and not by violent agitation on the streets.Speaking to journalists here at a Sehri event, organised at the Rawalpindi Press Club, the minister advised the opposition to wait till 2018 and at the time of elections go to the people of Pakistan with their list of allegations against the government.

The PML-N would come before the people with a list of its services for Pakistan, he said adding then the people would decide whether they accept the opposition’s list of allegations or acknowledge the services of PML-N.

He said the government was building power plants to meet the energy needs of the country. By the end of 2017, many of these power plants would start generating electricity, which would increase industrial production, create new jobs and bring prosperity into the lives of people.

Pervaiz Rashid said the country was already generating a record level of electricity, adding new hydel, coal and gas based power projects were under construction and would start generating power to overcome the present shortfall of 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts.

He said those people who could not compete with Nawaz Sharif in elections wanted to create chaos in the country. People voted for Nawaz Sharif due to his services for the country, he added.

He said the opposition should desist from creating chaos on roads as it would slow the progress of Pakistan and hurt the government’s efforts to overcome the energy shortage by the end of 2017.

He said if progress of the country was stopped by any means, it would be a loss for the people of Pakistan and it might obstruct the government’s efforts to meet energy needs by building more power plants. He said those who wanted progress of Pakistan and those who desired free press waged the same kind of struggle.

The minister said dictatorial rules caused an irreversible damage to the country. Due to these dictatorships, Pakistan was dismembered and the culture of Kalashnikov and menace of terrorism spread in the country. When the press was in chains, democracy was also locked in Pakistan, he added.

The minister said a free media and democracy go hand in hand and in the presence of free media, nobody can derail democracy. Political workers struggled for democracy while journalists overcame difficulties to ensure a free press.

He said that future of the next generation was linked with democratic system and a developed Pakistan. Now democracy and free press were getting stronger in Pakistan, he remarked. Democracy and free press strengthened each other and these two should be linked to the prosperity of Pakistan, he said adding a free press and democracy safeguard and protect each other.

It was the responsibility of journalists to counter those voices which ask what democracy had given to Pakistan, he stressed. Pervaiz said, “It is the responsibility of us all to strengthen the relations of democracy, press, parliament, political workers and journalists.”

Strong democracy and a free press had created a ray of hope in the eyes of people of Pakistan, he added.Talking about the death of Qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri, he said Pakistan lost a beautiful son who was known the world over for his craft. “Those who took away Amjad Sabri from us were born in the periods of dictatorship.”

The minister said there were difficulties but the present government had been taking steps to overcome the problems.The minister said opponents wanted to slow down the projects of power plants and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and decrease pace of progress of the country to stop the Pakistan Muslim League-N from winning the next general election.

Pervaiz Rashid said it was the media’s responsibility to inform people of Pakistan about prevailing circumstances. The minister said the opinion of people was the biggest accountability of the political leadership.

In the last 65 years, the slogan of accountability was raised to take revenge from opponents, he said adding now again the slogan of accountability was raised for revenge. He said it was the right of the people to get a better future for themselves.

The minister said Pakistan would emerge as a better, brighter and progressing country in the year 2018 due to the efforts of the government.He appreciated the National Press Club for organising a family festival for media persons and hoped such activities would continue in future too.

Senator Tanveer Khan, Dr Jamal Nasir, Sardar Naseem, senior journalists Haneef Khalid and Haji Nawaz Raza, President National Press Club Shakeel Anjum, Secretary General Imran Yaqub Dhiloon, Afzal Butt, Farooq Faisal Khan and Bilal Dar were also present on the occasion.