PM blasts PTI for ‘malicious campaign’ against COAS

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday said the perpetrators of May 9 riots had resorted to new tactics to malign the country and its armed forces and warned that the government would show zero tolerance for such anti-state acts.

Chairing the federal cabinet meeting here, he said a malicious campaign had been run against the Army Chief General Asim Munir from the official website of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“This is a matter which has to be taken care of and we will not tolerate any such propaganda campaign against the motherland, its innocent people and armed forces,” the prime minister said.

He maintained that the government would not move even a step back in protecting the armed forces. “We will have to create awareness and unitedly will have to create a wall against the anti-armed forces propaganda,” he emphasized.

“Such heart-burning scenes were never witnessed the way Army Chief Asim Munir and his family members are being maligned on the PTI’s official website,” he said.

He recalled that the same violent group attacked parliament and Pakistan Television and surrounded the Prime Minister’s House in 2014.

He emphasized the need to unite against such malicious campaigns, stressing that armed forces, civilian armed forces and police had rendered immense sacrifices in the fight against terrorism to ensure peace and stability in the country.

“Our armed forces and law-enforcement agencies safeguarded the country with their blood in the last 77 years, whether in wars or fight against terrorism or during floods,” he said.

He denounced the terror attacks in Pakistan by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghanistan, saying that was “unacceptable”, as Pakistan was fully prepared to protect its citizens but desired peaceful resolution of the issue.

He pointed out the surge in the terror incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, leading to the killing of civil and armed forces personnel.

He termed the terror wave a machination against Pakistan, as it was taking place at a time when the coalition government was making efforts for the country’s development and had reached a Staff Level Agreement with the IMF despite challenges and announced a three-month relief package for 96% of domestic power consumers.

Highlighting the role of Afghanistan in the new wave of terrorism, the prime minister said the government was interacting with them and Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif was there. “But how is it possible that we hosted millions of their people here without any complaint? We treated them like our brothers and never considered them as a burden. But we were rewarded in the form of TTP attacks on our citizens to mar the country’s peace and business. This is not acceptable,” he remarked. He said Pakistan was ready to face any kind of situation.

Meanwhile, the federal cabinet adopted a strong resolution condemning Israel, supporting Palestine and demanding the trial of the state of Israel for committing war crimes against humanity. The cabinet observed that just condemnation of brutal acts against the people of Palestine was not sufficient and asked the international community and organizations to take all diplomatic, administrative and legal measures and impose restrictions on Israel as a state for genocide and war crimes.

“Just condemnation is not sufficient, as Israel is continuing its brutalities despite decision of the International Court of Justice, UN resolutions, demands from human rights organizations and protest of the civilized world,” the resolution said.

The federal cabinet maintained that if a wild state was not made bound to the international laws and human rights to stop further bloodshed, it would destroy peace of the whole world.

The forum also emphasized upon the United Nations and international community to take immediate steps to settle the dispute of occupied territories.

The resolution also observed that the International Court of Justice had already declared the Israeli construction activities as violation of international law. “The ICJ had also directed payment of compensation and damages to the people of Palestine,” said the resolution.

In this connection, the cabinet through the resolution emphasized the need for making renewed and result-oriented efforts for establishment of an independent state of Palestine with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital prior to 1967. The resolution noted that till October 7, 2023, more than 39,000 Palestinians had been martyred due to the barbarity of Israel.

“Human populations, hospitals, schools, UN and media offices, workers and media people, none among them are safe from indiscriminate bombing, firing and killing spree. The Palestinian areas have turned into a graveyard and heaps of destruction. Such a precedent of barbarity, cruelty and brutality was unmatched in the recent history,” said the resolution.

It also urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as joint voice of the Muslim states, to renew its efforts for joint and unanimous efforts and mull over formulation of a joint strategy in this regard. The cabinet also appreciated and fully supported the SCO for adopting a clear and solid stance in support of Palestine in its July 4 summit.

The cabinet emphasized increased efforts for provision of necessary goods, including food stuff, to Palestinians.

The resolution also reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued support to the freedom of the people of Palestine and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and their legitimate rights as enshrined in the UN resolutions and the international laws.

Shehbaz said Israel’s continuing barbaric acts in Palestine had been unprecedented in human history, as it was targeting innocent citizens, including children and women, in Gaza and rest of Palestinian areas.

The premier said during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and SCO plus summits in Astana, he had raised a strong voice for the rights of oppressed people of Palestine.

He also welcomed the Beijing Declaration on an agreement among the leading Palestinian groups to unite and form an interim unity government.

In a post on X, he particularly lauded the People’s Republic of China for securing this important diplomatic success. He said for long the people of Palestine had seen nothing but pain and suffering and the agreement had ignited hope for a lasting peace.

Shehbaz also strongly condemned an attack at Pakistan’s Mission in Frankfurt, Germany, and vandalism of the national flag. He said the elements involved in the act should face a strict legal action. He also condemned the recent incidents of terrorism in the country and paid tribute to the personnel of security forces who laid down their lives in these incidents. The prime minister prayed for the high ranks of Shuhada in Jannah.

The federal cabinet also approved a new visa regime with enforcement of online visa application system for the citizens of 126 countries aimed at promoting business and investment activities and tourism sector. Under the system, the citizens of these 126 countries would get business and tourist visa within 24 hours and would be exempted from paying visa processing fee, the press release said.

For facilitation of Sikhs Yatrees having passports of third country, the cabinet approved a separate sub-category in visa on arrival facility. For this purpose, a dashboard would be introduced at the Ministry of Interior to supervise the online visa system.

The federal cabinet, on the recommendations of Islamabad, Balochistan, Sindh, Lahore and Peshawar High Courts and the Ministry of Law and Justice, also granted approval for notifying the special courts and banking courts with regard to the banking cases.

These special and banking courts would function under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

The cabinet also approved the singing of an MoU between Pakistan and Denmark for promotion of public-private partnership over logistics, transport, green and sustainable growth, water waste management, urban green development, alternative energy and construction of basic infrastructure.