LAHORE: The culprits in the Kot Radha Kishan lynching incident have been arrested and will be awarded punishment in accordance with law, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said here on Sunday.

Addressing an Iqbal Day gathering, he promised that the government would bring to the dock those responsible for murdering the Christian couple.

Know more: Hindu council urges PM to prevent atrocities against minorities

He told reporters that the government stood by the victims in all cases of injustice.

Replying to a question, he said consultations for the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) were under way but everyone was hesitant to accept the responsibility of overseeing the electoral exercise.

‘Government stands by victims in all cases of injustice’

The minister said there was a general consensus on former Supreme Court judge Rana Bhagwandas but he had refused keeping in view the “situation”.

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He said the job of picking a name had been made difficult by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan who had levelled allegations against former CEC Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim.

He said if Mr Khan had evidence of rigging in last year’s elections he should present it before the media, although he had failed to do so in courts.

Mr Rashid said that families of the victims of the Lahore Model Town tragedy were not cooperating with the government in the formation of a joint investigation team. Several workers of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek were killed and injured in a clash with police in June.

“Only scathing speeches are being made and the PAT is doing politics on the issue instead of cooperating with the government in completing the investigation,” he alleged.

The minister said that “the politics of sit-ins will be responsible for delay in overcoming the energy crisis”, blaming the protests in Islamabad for the cancellation of the Chinese president’s visit to the country during which he was scheduled to sign agreements for a number of power projects.

Mr Rashid said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was doing politics for the country but some leaders of other parties were pursuing personal interests.

He said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif accompanied by the prime minister to China because his province was to sign investment agreements with Chinese companies.

In a lighter vein, he said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak would be taken along during cultural tours.

The minister said that Imran Khan had stopped PTI’s leaders from holding negotiations with the government team though the latter was willing to continue the process. He urged Mr Khan to open ‘handcuffs’ of his party’s negotiators to resolve the disputes with the government through dialogue.

Answering a question about the Islamic State group trying to penetrate into Pakistani militant organisations, he said there was no report of its existence in the country.

He claimed that some local groups were using the IS’s name and they would be dealt with like the militants of North Waziristan.

According to APP, the minister said that PML-N had always held its leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa in high esteem but he had suffered political setbacks because of his son.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2014