ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will inform the nation about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-I
nsaf government’s (PTI) 100-day performance on November 29, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference after a session of the federal cabinet, Chaudry claimed that no other government in the country’s history had even gotten close to what we
the PTI government achieved in its first 100 days.
On the abduction and killing of Peshawar SP Tahir Khan Dawar, the minister told the press that the Prime Minister had expressed serious concern over the matter. “SP Tahir Dawar was the son of Pakistan. The federal cabinet has expressed deep concern over this whole matter. Th
e prime minister has sought a detailed report from concerned authorities over this tragedy,” he said.
The information minister also raised the issue of the Safe City cameras installed in the federal capital, saying that of the 1,600 cameras, 600 were not functional, while [image quality of] 800 was of no use to identify faces or number plates.
“Billions of rupees were spent on the installation of these cameras,” he said.
Asked about his sp
at with PML-N Senator Mushahidullah in the upper house of the Parliament, Chaudhry said, “Should we apologise for asking where the billions of rupees of the poor people of Pakistan went? Should we apologise if we ask how the money of the people of Pakistan is spent?”
He said that there was no need to apologise after the language used by PML-N leader Mushahidullah Khan against him and th
e prime minister. “We are told to apologise whenever we speak about corruption,” he said.
He said that the cabinet was not satisfied with the Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s ruling to bar him from the House until he apologised. “The entire cabinet expressed regret over this decision.”
Th
e prime minister has said that nobody has the right to disres
pect any minister. “We are told to apologise if we talk about the rights of the people. These people even sold off and profited from the land of Baba Fareed Ganj Shakar.”
Continuing his criticism of the Senate chairman, Chaudhry said that unlike him, Sanjrani was not elected by the people of Pakistan.
The federal minister said that if the Senate chairman was unable to bring order to the House, then the government would have to reconsider its strategy on the matter.
Speaking about the ongoing dispute between the government and opposition parties over the appointment of the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Chaudhry said the government had accepted several demands and that the opposition will now have to reciprocate. “The opposition’s demands are immoral,” he said, speaking about the opposition’s wishes of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif heading the committee.
“All we are asking for is that when our first project comes, you audit it,” he said, further asking: “How will the nation accept Shahbaz Sharif auditing Nawaz Sharifs projects?”
The information minister said th
e prime minister was concerned over the issue of Pakistani prisoners in other countries, and said it was the government’s responsibility to provide legal assistance and monetary compensation to such inmates.
He said the federal government was also ‘committed on the repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’. “We will try our best to bring her back,” he said.
Published in Daily Times, November 16th 2018.