ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary on Saturday reiterated government’s resolve to eliminate all type of extremism and terrorism in the country to ensure durable peace.
Ten soldiers were martyred after terrorists attacked a security forces’ checkpost in Balochistan’s Kech district on Wednesday. That incident was followed two days later by twin bomb blasts in the Sui area of Dera Bugti that martyred three Levies personnel.
Talking to journalists, Fawad said, “We have retaliated before and will fully take action again and not one drop of blood of our children will be wasted,” adding that there would be a “reckoning” from the state for the spilt blood.
The information minister reiterated that a clear message should be sent to those who conspired to break the country that Pakistan was meant to exist till the end of times and anyone who desired otherwise should get rid of the notion.
Extending his condolences to the families of the martyred, Chaudhry said there was a “deep conspiracy” behind the situation in Balochistan, adding that “there is no doubt there is a foreign hand behind this violence.”
He added that there were two forms of violence present, religious and separatist, with both posing threats if their demands weren’t met. “Any kind of extremism including religious extremism is condemnable and media should play its positive role in this regard,” he added.
Speaking on other matters, the information minister said the country was on the right track and had achieved economic stability with sectors such as agriculture and industry standing on their feet.
He also criticised the opposition over its inability to defeat the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill in the Senate on Friday, adding that it was comprised of “dwarves”. Chaudhry called on the opposition to make way for senior leadership and said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz should contest mayoral elections and make their way up the leadership ladder.
The information minister also criticised the opposition’s announced plans of different marches against the government, pointing out that it was the seventh such attempt and they eventually had to resort to relying on Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s “madrassah students”.
Regarding the urea crisis in the country, he chalked it up to the variance in international and domestic prices and said it was more of a distribution issue instead of shortage.
