ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday asserted that the rise of “religious extremist” parties like Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) would ultimately harm the country.
Addressing a post-Cabinet press conference in Islamabad, the information minister claimed that the recently concluded local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not come under discussion during the meeting.
“Today was a meeting of federal cabinet, not a meeting of the PTI’s core committee. We will talk about this at a meeting for the core committee,” he said when asked about his concerns over the results of the polls.
Fawad was speaking to media a day after the PTI faced a major upset in the first phase of KP local body polls, while the JUI-F bagged the highest number of mayor/chairman seats.
In response to another question today, Fawad Chaudhry said the reason for the ruling party’s failure in the polls was “clear”. “When three to four candidates from the same party contest the polls in the same constituency, then they will inevitably lose the election,” he added.
Talking about the JUI-F, Fawad Chaudhry asserted that the JUI-F scoring big in the first phase of KP local body elections is “unfortunate”. “This will spell the country’s downfall as a party that is against women’s rights and is a supporter of extremist policies when it comes to religion has won the polls,” he added.
The information minister said it was the country’s “misfortune that a party that should have been dismantled”, won in the local body polls because of “our mistakes”. The minister said that the PML-N and the PPP no longer had any standing in the political arena, reiterating that the PTI was the only national party.
In response to a question about PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, the information minister said that she “does not have much of a political standing”.
Speaking about former president Asif Ali Zardari’s recent speech in Nawabshah where he slammed the government’s policies, Chaudhry said: “If they even see the potential of a deal, all of them rush with their polish.”
On the economic front, he said indicators show a positive trajectory and economic stability due to the “prudent policies” of the government. He added that opportunities for wealth creation are on the rise in the country, with the textile, information technology, agriculture, and other sectors performing well.
He said direct taxes have seen a 31% surge, adding that all the crops have witnessed record production resulting in additional income of Rs1,100 billion to farmers.
