RAWALPINDI, Nov 4: Five District Nazims on Sunday resolved not to allow anyone to damage national or private assets, disrupt peace, create law and order situation or compel others to join a strike through coercion and intimidation on November 9.
The District Nazims, Raja Tariq Kiani, Rawalpindi; Ihsanullah Tiwana, Khushab; Umer Hayat Rokhri, Mianwali; Hameed Akbar Khan Niwani, Bhakar and Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, Jhelum, were speaking at a joint press conference.
Religious parties have called for a wheeljam strike on November 9 to protest against the government’s support for international campaign against terrorism.
In view of the violent history of the religious parties, who lack public support and indications by the security agencies, there are fears that the religious activists may resort to violent means to make the strike a success, the Nazims said.
After failing in their previous attempts to observe shutterdown strike and bring the people on the roads, the religious leaders are trying their luck this time on Friday.
The Nazims said all possible options, including summoning of troops to assist the civil administration in maintenance of law and order, might be brought into use on November 9.
They said being elected representatives, they fully supported the government’s decisions to deal with the situation facing the country due to Afghan crisis. They said the religious leaders were misusing the liberty granted to them by the government. They warned the leaders to remain within the confines of the law while expressing their viewpoints and refrain from thrusting their opinion on others.
The Rawalpindi Nazim urged the leaders of religious parties not to put the national interests at stake for the sake of vested interests and short-term gains.
He said the ultimate loser of the whole exercise would be the common people, who wanted their country to prosper and peace to prevail. However, this cannot happen with strikes being held everywhere, he added.
Mr Kiani said economic revival had been impeded by the crisis, and the situation was bound to aggravate further due to the frequent strike calls.
He said all sincere efforts were made by the government to save the Afghans from the devastation and destruction wreaked by the US bombardments, but these efforts failed due to the stubborn attitude of the Taliban.
Mr Kiani parried a question about the negotiations of the district administration with various groups to make them keep their businesses open and side with the government and said, “we had only assured them that they would be provided all security if they opted not to participate in the strike”.
However, on being further questioned, Mr Kiani assured that public interest would not be compromised while giving concessions to trade groups.
Asked if their claim of representing public sentiments held validity as they had been elected on the basis of local issues, the Rawalpindi Nazim said their claim was based on the fact that local development and prosperity was inter-related with national issues.
The Jhelum Nazim said the leaders of religious parties had vested interests and were using the volatile situation to gain political mileage.
Mr Altaf feared that the religious leaders, through their irresponsible attitude, wanted to take the people back to the stone age, something done by their mentors — the Taliban.
He held the Taliban responsible for the sufferings of the people of Afghanistan, with whom, he added, “all of us have complete sympathies”.
He said: “We have already paid a lot for the sake of Afghans in the form of Kalashnikov culture, drugs, sectarian terrorism and other menaces. We can no longer bear these problems.”
He maintained: “We are doing all we can to alleviate the sufferings of the Afghans.”
Umer Hayat Rokhri said there were certain instances wherein religious activists were caught while trying to damage public property during the previous strikes. It transpired during subsequent investigations that those people were trying to settle personal scores, he added.
“This way of settling personal vendettas and scores with opponents under the garb of support for Afghans cannot be allowed”, he said.
Mr Rokhri said it should be clear to everyone that Pakistan’s interests were more dear to the people than anything else.
Sincerity of some of the so-called religious leaders towards Taliban, Ihsanullah Tiwana said, could be judged from the fact that in the past these people were their opponents.
“Because of personal interests, they have become their sympathizers today, but the public is well aware of their reality”, he added.
Mr Tiwana said the strikers would neither be serving the cause of Islam nor of Pakistan through their action, and “people should realize that our enemy may benefit from the uncertain situation in the country”.
However, according to sources, various trade groups and associations have placed charter of demands before the district government, and even the newly appointed Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (Rtd) Khalid Maqbool, during his visit to the city, asked the Nazims to fulfil their demands if they wanted the traders to decide against participating in the strike.
