Dharna wallahs will bite the dust again: Nawaz

Says democracy gives the right to protest but it shouldn’t be violated; no power can stop Pakistan from supporting Kashmir struggle; India will be mistaken if it equates freedom struggle with terrorism; armed forces fully prepared to counter any aggression

ISLAMABAD: Responding to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s call for lockdown of the federal capital on October 30, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Monday said those trying to paralyse the country through their negative politics will miserably fail in their designs and they will bite the dust.

“They failed in their Dharna attempt in 2014 and they will fail miserably this time too,” he said while addressing the ruling PML-N’s Central Working Party (CWP) here.“Our agenda is of development and progress, but certain people are keen to derail the process as they only believe in protests,” he said. “Democracy gives the right to protest, but it cannot be without limits. These limits should not be violated as people won’t allow it.”

The members of the CWP eulogised the leadership role of the prime minister and felicitated him on the government’s performance.Nawaz said the Karachi operation was initiated in consultation with all the stakeholders and it was yielding positive results.

He recalled that when the incumbent government took power in 2013, the PML-N faced many challenges.“We are overcoming these challenges satisfactorily. Terrorist activities have gone down. Economy has been strengthened. We are working day and night to overcome the energy challenge,” he said.

Nawaz said the government was striving to overcome all the challenges, including terrorism and energy shortages.“The economy has been strengthened as a result of effective policies. The government is also working for the development of Thar Coal. Mining has started there and coal-based power plants are being installed. This is something that has not been done in the last 70 years,” Nawaz added.

He reiterated that by 2018 more than 10,000MW electricity will be added to the national grid that would help overcome the power shortages and loadshedding.The prime minister said land had been acquired for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam by releasing Rs100 billion. He assured the CWP that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be beneficial for most people of Balochistan.

Motorways and highways worth Rs1,000 billion are being constructed to provide communication facilities across the country.The prime minister announced that the social sector development, massive schemes and construction of hospitals in different cities will be carried out in the next 18 months.

He said the government will fully compensate farmers for their losses due to the low price of agriculture produce in the international market. “Subsidy is also being given for installation of solar tubewells in Balochistan,” he added.

He said Pakistan was committed to the Kashmir cause and no power in the world could stop it from supporting the indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiris.

“India is mistaken if itequates the indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmir with terrorism,” he said.Nawaz said the Kashmiris were fighting for their right to self-determination and Pakistan would continue to support them.

He said Burhan Wani was a freedom fighter and the pride of Kashmiri people and he would be remembered for his heroic role, as nobody could deprive him of that pride.The participants of the meeting condemned the Indian brutalities on innocent Kashmiris and said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, the prime minister had truly represented the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.The meeting strongly condemned the Indian aggression along the Line of Control (LoC). It said the armed forces were fully prepared to counter any aggression.