Interior Minister Brigadier Ijaz Ahmed Shah (retd) Tuesday said that no one can send the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government packing as long as it is enjoying public confidence. Responding to a question regarding Emir Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman's call for anti-government protest campaign 'Azadi March' on October 27 and lockdown of Islamabad through sit-in, the minister said the PTI came to power through public mandate in 2018 general election; therefore, no one could dislodge its government until it enjoyed public confidence.
The government could not be toppled on anyone's demand, he said while talking to media persons along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari after inauguration of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police Facilitation Centre here at sector F-6. He said he believed that Maulana would not come on October 27. "The timing of the JUI-F sit-in is not appropriate and those who are coming to participate in it would come against the country," he said.
The minister said the Section 144 had already been imposed in the federal capital. About the JUI-F allegation that the government is interfering in seminaries' affairs, he said that contemporary subjects had been included in the syllabus of seminaries to revamp the madrassa (seminary) education system in order to bring them into the national mainstream. "The government is just including the subjects like mathematics, science, English, political sciences and history in madrassas' syllabus in order to make students of seminaries eligible for other jobs," he said, adding that no one was interfering into seminaries' affairs and its syllabus.
Shah said the present government was taking steps to address the problems faced by the people. The establishment of Police Facilitation Centre in the federal capital will help timely address complaints of the people. He said that Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Police were taking different steps aimed at public facilitation and resolving their problems instantly.
To a question about Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP), he said ICT police were recruiting more traffic personnel to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the capital's roads. To a question about the opposition parties' criticism, he said it was the job of the opposition to criticize while the government had to deliver. "The PTI will remain in power till it delivers properly and moves in the right direction," he added.
Police Facilitation Centre would facilitate public regarding issuance of character certificate, general police verification, loss report, tenant registration, foreigners' registration, servant registration, volunteer registration, vehicle registration, and other issues. Zulfiqar Bukhari said that a special counter had been set up in the Facilitation Centre to ensure that issues of overseas Pakistanis were addressed swiftly.
"This counter will be staffed both by the police personnel and staff of the Overseas Pakistani Foundation (POF)." He said those facilitation centres would also be established in other parts of the country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. The government was working over a legislation to address land disputes of overseas Pakistan which would be finalized in the next few days, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019