Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid said on Sunday Pakistan was a responsible state and sensibly conducted itself in the post-9/11 scenario. As a result, it now has a very honourable status in the Muslim world, he added. The minister was addressing a public meeting here at Circuit House.
The meeting was also addressed by Provincial Minister for Information and Public Relations Asif Iqbal Daudzai, MNA Maulana Nasib Ali Shah and Senator Qari Muhammad Abdullah. Sheikh Rashid said Pakistan was the only atomic power in the Muslim world, adding it had emerged stronger in the post 9/11 period and there was no danger to it from outside.
It was the internal threat that should be addressed, he said. The minister asked the people to avoid getting involved in issues based on ethnicity, sectarianism and regionalism. "These only benefit the anti-state elements."
He urged the Ulema to show the world that places of worship whether these be mosques, churches or Imambargahs, were the most safe and secure places in Pakistan.
Sheikh Rashid assured the meeting that nuclear programme would never be rolled back. He said that we should not interfere with the religious conviction of others. "Had we not acted responsibly after 9/11 it would have placed Pakistan in great trouble. President Musharraf had shown great political sagacity by pulling the country out of a difficult situation."
The information minister also directed the PTV to prepare documentaries on religious institutions to show the world that Madaris were not the places where terrorists were trained, rather these were places of worship in true sense.
BANNU RADIO STATION INAUGURATED:
Federal Minster for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Sunday inaugurated Bannu radio station and announced that 50 more stations would be set up in the country to bring remote areas under the network. The radio could be heard on FM-102 MHZ and it will cover 70km radius area and benefit the population of Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat districts and some parts of Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, North and South Waziristan Agencies.
The ceremony was attended by Provincial Minster for Information Asif Iqbal Daudzai, MNA Maulana Nasib Ali Shah, senator Qari Abdullah, Advisor to Chief Minster NWFP Azam Khan Durrani, Director General PBC Tarique Imam, DCO Bannu Shah Wali Khan Ourakzai and other high officials.