Consider Kashmir situation before protest call: minister

LAHORE: Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that in a democracy everyone has a right to protest but timing is to be considered.

He was talking to media after the opening ceremony of the three-day 33rd annual conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) at a hotel here Monday.

To a question about JUI-F’s upcoming Azadi March, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said Pakistan was fighting the case of Kashmir at international level and the same should have been considered before giving a protest call. He added it was time to show solidarity with the innocent people of Kashmir and expose Indian atrocities in the Held Kashmir.

The minister said in democracy power was reflected through mandate. To another question he said Governor’s Rule was the last option and added there was provision for the same in the Constitution.

Answering yet another question, he said mandate of Karachi could not be changed as it contributed 65 percent share to the revenue of the country.

Earlier addressing the conference, the minister said 5G-technology was being introduced in the country which would enable the users to swiftly access the internet. He said AAOU could play an effective role in promoting IT sector in Pakistan. He said there was a need to learn from experiences of other countries to advance telecommunication and IT education in Pakistan.

Federal Secretary IT & Telecom Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, rector Virtual University Naeem Tariq, representatives of various universities from different countries, including China, Turkey and Malaysia etc attended the conference.