PDM’s call for protests has no significance for govt, says Sarwar

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said on Sunday the call for protests and rallies by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) made no difference to the government and it was committed to putting the country on path to progress and prosperity.

Talking to Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Muhammad Basharat, who called on him at the Governor’s House, he said the opposition parties had threatened the government with protest movements on scores of occasions in the past also, but they failed to create any trouble for the government.

He advised the opposition to adopt democratic practices instead of resorting to undemocratic measures to destabilise a democratically elected government. The governor said the opposition should play its constructive role inside and outside the parliament and wait for the next general election in 2023. The opposition should support the government on the issue of electoral reforms to make the upcoming elections completely transparent, he said, adding that masses in the country as well as Pakistanis living abroad stood by the government on the issue.

Muhammad Sarwar said it was the power of ballot which would form the next government after the general elections, adding that political victimisation was out of question under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. The government has a clear policy that the rule of law will prevail and practical steps are being taken for institutional reforms for the first time in the country's history," he said.

He said the government was making an all-out effort for development and prosperity of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The governor said the country was moving in the right direction and the business index had increased by 108 per cent under PTI government.

Condemning Indian atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he said India had become the biggest enemy of peace and humanity, adding that the international human rights bodies should take notice of the Indian atrocities on Kashmiris and resolve the issue in accordance with the UN resolutions.

On the current situation in Afghanistan, he said unity and solidarity were needed on the issue in the country, adding that those who tried to create chaos could not be well-wishers of the country.