Pakistan to fight till end to protect its independence, sovereignty: PM

[Mark-x]

CHACHRO: Reiterating the country’s desire for peace and not war, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday categorically stated that Pakistan would not be subdued at all and would fight till the end to protect its independence and sovereignty.

“Be it India or any Super Power, if anyone wants us to be subdued, we and our armed forces would fight to the end. Our people as well as the armed forces are fully prepared”, he warned while addressing a large public meeting here in District Tharparkar after distributing health cards among the poor families.

The Prime Minister said since Pakistan desired peace and had also sent this message to New Delhi time and again, adding, “We also handed over to India their [captured] pilot, because we do not want war, and also offered Pakistan’s cooperation to India after the Pulwama incident.”

He, however, categorically stated that no one should have any misunderstanding that it was due to any fear. “This is a new Pakistan and we want poverty alleviation”.

The Prime Minister said after coming to power, he talked to Indian Prime Minister, telling him that the subcontinent was facing highest levels of poverty in the world, and that all issues should be resolved through dialogue. “But I did not know that Modi will do all this after launching his election campaign,” the Prime Minister regretted. “If you (Modi) indulged in any bloodshed of Pakistanis to win the elections, there should not be any misunderstanding, we will retaliate”, he warned.

Imran Khan said since he was born in an independent Pakistan as against his parents who were born in a slave India, his parents never let him forget this fact. “When I describe Tipu Sultan as our hero, it is because of the fact that Tipu Sultan opted to fight for independence till his last moment of life, whereas Bahadur Shah Zafar surrendered and accepted slavery”, he remarked.

The Prime Minister said the government as well as all the political parties in Pakistan under the National Action Plan were committed to and had decided not to let any armed group to function in the country.

“We have decided to fully implement the National Action Plan and will not let any armed or militant group to use Pakistani soil for terrorism”, he added. The Prime Minister said it was a new Pakistan which was aiming to attract investment, giving employment to youth and eliminating poverty.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said since half of the po[CENSORED]tion in Tharparkar belonged to Hindu religion, his government stood with them and would protect them by all means as it considered all the minorities, be it Hindus, Sikhs, Christians etc., as equal citizen and was committed to protecting their rights.

He said as his role model was Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who did not want the division of people and was initially a strong advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity, and later he struggled for Pakistan after realizing that Congress would not ensure the protection of minorities’ rights.

The Prime Minister regretted the treatment of minorities including Muslims and Kashmiris in India under the Modi government and said “Today minorities in India are endorsing the views and apprehensions of the Quaid-e-Azam.”

He said it was the duty of Pakistanis to protect the rights of minorities in line with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who had dreamt of a country which would ensure equal rights for all without any discrimination of religion, race or creed.

The Prime Minister also referred to the politics of hatred in Karachi over the last two to three decades and said only one person destroyed peace of Karachi, which would have been a Dubai of Pakistan today, for his personal political gains.

It was due to that politics of hatred and violence, promoted by only one person, that led to outflow of businessmen and investors from Karachi to Dubai, Malaysia and other destinations, he remarked.

Similarly, the Prime Minister said, some politicians in Punjab, when faced political hardships, raised the slogans like “Jag Punjabi Jag”. “Even in Sindh when the corruption of rulers is talked about, they use Sindh card”, he remarked.

The Prime Minister said unfortunately some leaders in Sindh did not know what the political struggle was? “How a person, who changes his name from Zardari to Bhutto, can know about the struggle”, he remarked.

Imran Khan also referred to recent a speech of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the National Assembly, delivered in English and said he (Bilawal) should know that most of the people, especially the members of PML-N and JUI-F, did not fully understand the English language.

The Prime Minister also rejected the view of PPP Chairman about U-Turn and said the true political leaders have to take U-Turns to reach the destination and achieve their goals.

He said that if Asif Ali Zardari, who had reportedly secured his US $ 60 million from the Swiss banks after getting NRO from Pervez Musharraf, would have taken a right U-turn at that time, should not be facing the courts nowadays.

The Prime Minister said though the 18th Amendment had empowered the provinces with enough funds, the federal government would do all to provide relief to the people of Tharparkar by all means.

Giving the break-up of public kitty, he said, with a total annual budget of Rs. 5500 billion, Rs. 2000 billion are used for debt-servicing, Rs. 2500 billion allocated for provinces, Rs. 1700 billion for defence and security, adding, the federal government starts its financial year with a deficit of Rs. 600 billion. “Unless, we do not raise our tax collection, we do not fulfill our needs and ensure the uplift of backward areas like Tharparkar”, he added.