LAHORE: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared here tonight [June 13] that he would place the Ahmadi issue before the National Assembly immediately after the Budget session. In a 73-minute address to the nation over radio and television, the Prime Minister counselled patience and tolerance and urged the people not to take the law into their own hands under any circumstance. The Prime Minister said if the Members of the National Assembly decided that the matter be referred to the Council of Islamic Ideology or the Supreme Court, he would have no hesitation to do so, and called upon the people to refrain from playing into the hands of those who wanted to give a political twist to the Rabwah incident for achieving their ulterior motives.

“Whom would you kill, and whose property would you burn. Everything which may be harmed belongs to Pakistan,” he added. The Prime Minister categorically declared: “Insha Allah, the decision on the Ahmadi issue will be taken during our stay in the office.” He said the issue was a religious one and its solution “must be such which does not affect the solidarity and sovereignty of the country and represents the feelings and aspirations of the people.” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024