Prime Minister cannot be blackmailed

ISLAMABAD    -  Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he would visit Quetta as soon as the Hazara community buries the victims of gruesome Mach incident mentioning that prime minister should not be blackmailed on such incidents.

Speaking at a ceremony in connection with the launch of Special Technology Zones Authority, the Prime Minister said he will visit Quetta the moment the slain coal miners are buried.

The prime minister said that the protesters were informed that he will visit once they bury those slain in the attack. “I am using this platform to say that if you bury them today, I will go to Quetta to meet the families of the deceased today,” he said.

“This should be clear. All of your demands have been met but you can’t impose a condition which has no logic. So first, bury the dead. If you do it today then I guarantee you that I will come to Quetta today”, he added.

The Prime Minister said the government has accepted all the demands of Hazara community and the bereaved families will be compensated and fully taken care of as they have lost their bread earners in the despicable incident.

Imran Khan said he has also sent his cabinet members to Hazara community to deliver a message that the government fully stands behind them. “I have sent them a message that when all of your demands have been accepted. You don’t blackmail the prime minister of any country like this”, he clarified.

“Anyone will blackmail the prime minister then,” he said, adding that this included a “band of crooks” in apparent reference to the Pakistan Democratic Movement. “This blackmailing has also been ongoing for two-and-a-half years,” he emphasised.

Imran Khan said the Mach incident is part of the Indian conspiracy to instigate anarchy and sectarian strife in Pakistan.

He said the Indian plot was to murder the religious scholars of different schools of thought. He commended the intelligence agencies for foiling four major terrorist activities including one in Islamabad. He said, “We have put out the fire which the enemy was conspiring to stoke through sectarianism.”

Prime Minister’s remarks come as Balochistan’s Hazara community continue its protest for the sixth straight day on Friday, refusing to bury those who were brutally killed over the weekend.

On Sunday, armed attackers had slit the throats of 11 miners in a residential compound near a mine site in Balochistan’s Mach coalfield area, filming the entire incident and later posting it online. The gruesome attack was claimed by the militant Islamic State group.

Since then, thousands of Hazaras have staged a protest along with coffins containing the miners’ bodies in the western bypass area in Quetta, while members of the community have also held protests in other cities across the country.

Turning to the launch of Special Technology Zones Authority, the Prime Minister said the step is aimed at giving incentives to the IT sector to bolster its growth. This, he said, will provide immense job opportunities to the youth and boost our IT related exports.

The Prime Minister said our expatriate Pakistanis including those in the United States can benefit from the incentives being offered to the IT companies. He expressed the confidence that the establishment of technology zones in the country will also help attract foreign investment.

Amer Ahmed Hashmi has been appointed the Chairman of the Authority who on the occasion lauded the Prime Minister for taking personal interest in prioritization of STZA’s establishment. The launch marks the beginning of an era of dedicated and integrated national knowledge-based ecosystem in Pakistan.

The specific mandate of STZA is to lead the development of Special Technology Zones (STZs) in the country.

The zones will help increase high-tech exports of Pakistan and facilitate technology transfer from major global Science and Technology hubs. Chairman STZA said that the zones will foster skills development, job creation, technology transfer and new economic value generation.

Industrial clusters formation has not only led to rapid industrialization and social development of countries like China, Japan, and South Korea, but they have become the global best practice for high-speed growth and development.  

Action against sugar hoarders

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed strict action against all those involved in illegal profiteering and hoarding of sugar across the country.

Chairing a meeting on prices and availability of sugar, the Prime Minister stressed for taking the action “without any discrimination” to ensure availability of essential commodities.

Imran Khan said profiteers and hoarders were the enemies of poor and did not deserve any concession.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Asad Umar, Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Dr Waqar Masood and senior officials.

The Chief Secretary Punjab, through video-link, gave a detailed briefing about the sugar produce, crushing and available stock in Punjab.

The Prime Minister was informed that to ensure ample availability of sugar stock at controlled prices, the video-link meetings among all Commissioners of Divisions and deputy commissioners of districts were being held on daily basis.

It was updated that action had been taken against those involved in under-weighing of commodities and profiteers, while 79 persons had been arrested besides 190 First Information Reports (FIR) registered.

Sardar Tanvir Ilyas calls on PM

Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab for Investment, Trade and Business Sardar Tanvir Ilyas called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here on Friday and discussed political situation in the country.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur and Chief Organizer Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Saifullah Niazi were present in the meeting, the PM Office said.