'No decision taken to send army to Saudi Arabia'

Federal Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said here on Saturday that Pakistan will sell its defence products to different nations, including Saudi Arabia, after getting assurance from such countries that they would not use these weapons against anyone. Speaking to media after visiting a book fair at Punjab University, Tanveer said that the military served the federal government and could be deployed anywhere in the state.
"No land will be vacated for the militants," he said, adding that "no decision has been taken to send army to Saudi Arabia". Reiterating that both the government and the army are on the same page for peace talks with Taliban, he said that the government was ready for operation, but wanted to move ahead with dialogue.
He further said that the militant organisation had provided a list of 250 arrested men, but only 19 extremists were released. "The option of a military operation is always there, but the government wants to resolve the issue through dialogue", he added. The minister further stated that the export of Pakistan's military arms was equal to none in the global market and the ammunition would be sold to other states, including Saudi Arabia, after receiving their assurance that it would not be used in any third state.
Highlighting the importance of developing reading habit, the minister said that the knowledge was incomplete without books. The media should create awareness among youth regarding importance of books, he said, adding that he liked two things ie books and trees.
A spokesperson of the Punjab University said that the country's largest book fair organised by the university administration concluded on Saturday. According to the organisers, over 78,000 books were sold in two days. Thousands of people, belonging to different walks of life and a large number of families, visited the book fair and bought books of their interest. The sale of books gained momentum in the last couple of hours of the Book Fair following book-sellers offered 50 percent discount on books.
Dr Mujahid Kamran said that the purpose of the book fair was to provide all kinds of books under one roof on reduced prices. Intizar Hussain said that book fairs played important role in promoting literary and co-curricular books, besides promoting art and literature in the society. Renowned columnist, Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi, said that "we are just pessimists that the new generation is not taking interest in book fairs, but heavy rush of people is itself a witness to the fact that the new generation is still connected to the books."