SIALKOT: Special Assis­tant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broad­casting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that some `VIP prisoners’ are pulling the strings of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to launch march on the federal capital for their political gains but the government will not let any group take people hostage.

Talking to media here on Sunday, she said “people’s right to life supersedes the opposition’s right to protest and the government will take action against march participants if the rights of people are jeopardised”.

She warned that the opposition’s move might hurt Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force issue to the liking of India and the economic `turnaround’ the PTI government had achieved so far.

Ms Awan said at a time when the international monetary institutions were appreciating Pakistan’s economic policies, some `political orphans’ wanted to sabotage the government’s efforts to improve economy. She said the PTI government was providing an ideal investment environment to local and foreign investors. She said that a number of Chinese investors would bring big investments to Pakistan during the next four years.

She said Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his allies in the opposition were fighting a battle of their political survival. She said the JUI-F had challenged the writ of the government by launching its own armed wing but the government would never allow them to play with the lives of people.

She said that Oct 27 would be observed as a Black Day but the Maulana had chosen this day for his protest to please India. “They are sabotaging the Kashmir cause for their personal political gains.”

She said that Pakistan was providing complete religious freedom to all minorities, including the Sikh community. She said as the government was facilitating religious tourism, Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor on Nov 9, on the eve of the 550th birthday anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev Je.

The special assistant to PM said that the national games would soon be held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a gap of nine years.

She said the recent visit of the British royal couple to Pakistan showed to the world that Pakistan was a peaceful country while Pakistanis were peace-loving people, adds APP.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2019