Govt’s failure compels COAS to jump in: Gilani

MULTAN: Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa found himself compelled to end the Islamabad sit-in after government had failed to tackle the problem. Addressing a public meeting in Christian minority area at Razabad, he said that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto would address a public gathering at cricket stadium Qila Qasim Bagh on December 15. The former premier said that the PPP had appointed Shahbaz Bhatti as minister due to party's commitments with the minorities. The PPP had elected minority representative in Senate despite of the fact that the party had lacked special minority seats. The PPP had established a separate and independent ministry for minorities and allocated four seats for minorities in the Senate. "The PPP has been more flexible for minorities than any other party across the country. The party had enacted laws for protection of minorities and allocated five percent quota in jobs. The PPP had launched the Benazir Income Support Programme to help the poor people. It did not allow confrontation between the institutions and always followed the constitution," he added.