ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday that the government had authorised registration of a ‘bogus’ FIR on the June 17 Model Town killings even against the prime minister for the cause of peace.

Talking to different television channels, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on a foreign visit when the fateful incident had taken place. He said the government had demonstrated maximum flexibility and restraint and wanted to resolve the present crisis through dialogue.

He praised the nation for rejecting the politics of agitation and sit-ins and said there was no justification and weight in arguments of the protesters.

In reply to a question, Mr Rashid said the government had not asked anyone to play the role of a mediator or guarantor in the current situation. The army, he said, had been deployed in the federal capital under Article 245 of the Constitution to protect important buildings and sensitive installations.

The minister said PTI Chairman Imran Khan believed in media trial and announced in his public meetings judgments on his own by himself becoming applicant, advocate and judge. He criticised the PTI chief for levelling baseless allegations against the government through certain elements.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2014