ISLAMABAD- Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal calling for severe punishment for those who assaulted the parliament said war for supremacy of constitution to be taken to logical end.
A new type of revolution is being introduced in the country through containers, said the minister while addressing the joint session of the house. "Pakistan is being made a hostage of containerized revolution. The world has seen velvet and orange revolution and Pakistan is having a containerized one," said Iqbal. He condemned the speech of Dr. Tahir ul Qadri wherein he subjected the parliament and opposition leader to criticism. Those bragging to bring about revolution do not believe in constitution and rule of law, he lamented.
"Ordinary people have understood that Pakistan's future lies in its political stability. They have decided that if they do not like the current government, we will oust it with our vote."
Iqbal said that it wasn't the government which claimed that the protesting parties were working according to a script. "We didn't say that; it was the president of PTI who used those words. Shouldn't Imran resign after such an allegation came against him from the president of his party?"
He appealed the speaker to constitute a special committee to decide punishment for the protesters who had challenged the integrity and supremacy of the parliament.
He raged that protesting forces subject anyone to undue criticism whenever they want. He said certain elements entered the PTV and shut its transmission for 45 minutes to imply that the state had failed. “I expect that soon the premises of the parliament would be cleared of protesters,” he added.
He vowed that the government would resist all extra-constitutional steps. He said Imran should also resign as his party president had leveled serious allegations against him.
The minister also mocked media coverage to Imran Khan during prime time. “Even whenever the PTI chief rises on the container and sneezes, is covered by the media as breaking news.”
"No leader in Pakistan has been given the kind of live coverage that these two get on prime time every day." said Iqbal. "Pity is that none of these parties gained anything from this live coverage."
He said nowhere in the world elections were conducted in the fair and transparent manner. “Even elections in the US a decade ago came under fire for being rigged, under the Bush administration.”
He said the prime minister has offered to make a commission to go over the PTI's complaints. "Any complaints of any engineering, we welcome these and the commission can assess what happened if they cannot even trust the judiciary of this country, we will perhaps have to call the UN if Imran wants to punish the people of this country for his stubbornness then that cannot be cured even by Hakim Lucman."
He asked the PTI chief to show government some glimpses of ‘new Pakistan’ if he had taken some initiatives in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
"The way Imran and Qadri behave it seems like they are the only ones who are clean in this country. If everyone is a thief and corrupt then who is clean? You only? Why are you trying to shatter our confidence, shatter our belief in ourselves?" questioned Ahsan Iqbal.
"I want to tell Imran and Qadri that even if you sit here for 500 years you will not be able to do anything to the government of this country to democracy this is a war for the supremacy of Constitution and we will take it to its logical conclusion," he said.
He concluded his hour-long speech by asking Imran to help government constructing cancer hospital in Islamabad.