ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government fully backed on Sunday the current Karachi operation being conducted by Rangers and declared that it would not yield to any political pressure or blackmailing on the issue.

“The government owns the Karachi operation and indiscriminate action will be taken to establish peace in the city and to arrest criminals. Nobody will be allowed to indulge in criminal activities on the pretext of religion and politics,” Information Minister Pervez Rashid told reporters soon after he and another PML-N leader Mushahidullah had taken fresh oath of office as federal ministers at a ceremony held at the Presidency.

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President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath.

Mr Pervez Rashid and Mushahidullah were holding offices of federal ministers for information and environment, respectively, being members of the upper house of parliament, but their six-year term expired on March 11. After taking a fresh oath, they have retained their offices.          

The information minister, who is also the government’s spokesman, said that security agencies, including Rangers, had no role in politics and they had been acting in accordance with unanimous decisions of the democratically elected government.

“If anybody has complaints about the Karachi operation he should approach the independent judiciary. We do politics of reconciliation and not of expediency,” the minister said.

Answering a question about the role of federal and Sindh governments in the Karachi operation, he said that Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was the captain of the operation as had been stated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“At a recent security meeting presided over by the prime minister, the Sindh chief minister supported all decisions taken at a meeting about law and order in Karachi,” he said.

The minister said that the Operation Zarb-i-Azb in tribal areas and the ongoing operation in Karachi had been started with the support of all political parties and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself had gone to Karachi before the start of the operations.

The government, he said, was fully supporting the Rangers’ operation in Karachi and nobody would be allowed to undermine the supremacy of law.

Referring to the raid by Rangers at the MQM headquarters in Karachi, the minister said that if a criminal used the flag and office of a political party it was the duty of that party to hand over that criminal to the law.

The minister said that a parliamentary party could not be deprived of its democratic right to participate in the electoral process and it was the responsibility of the government to protect the legitimate rights of all political parties, but the government would not allow any party to indulge in criminal activities.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid said: “I believe that all political parties having representation in parliament will back law-enforcement agencies and cooperate with state institutions in ensuring supremacy of law.

“If there is a criminal in a Madressah (seminary) or in the office of a political party he will be arrested and any hurdle in the process will be removed.”

The minister said that all national institutions should be respected and use of indecent and inappropriate language against them should be avoided.

“The culture of abuse and bullets should end and political leaders should respect and follow laws related to integrity and honour of security institutions and realise that the choice of words also has an effect on one’s personality,” he said.

Mr Rashid said the prime minister was determined to root out terrorism and the armed forces and security forces were successfully continuing the operation Zarb-i-Azb against terrorists.

Minister for Environment Mushahidullah Khan said that the government would not succumb to any pressure or blackmailing and continue to act against terrorists.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2015

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