PESHAWAR - Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Humans Resource Development, Sajid Hussain Turi on Monday said that May 9 vandalism had exposed the evil face of the attackers and elements involved in the ransacking of national installations could not escape from the law.
He strongly condemned the ransacking of public, government and defence installations on May 9 and 10 and said that the burning of Radio Pakistan Peshawar’s historic building showed that the attackers had “no regard for cultural heritage and media.”
He expressed these views during his visit to the burnt building of Radio Pakistan Peshawar and expressed solidarity with employees of the national broadcaster and Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation.
Sajid Turi said the ransacking and burning of Radio Pakistan Peshawar, Jinnah House Lahore and defence installations on May 9-10 exposed the barbaric mindsets of the rioters.
He said that former president Asif Ali Zardari had raised the slogan of “Pakistan Khapay” after the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed in 2007 and PPP had always raised the national flag sky high.
The federal minister said the destruction and damages of the May 9 vandalism were beyond immigration and the culprits could not escape from the clutches of law.
He said Radio Pakistan Peshawar was a historic station established on March 6, 1935, from where the announcement of Pakistan’s independence was aired on midnight of August 13-14, 1947. Sajid Turi said he would talk to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto about the devastations caused to the Radio Pakistan Peshawar’s building and announced five motorcycles for the national broadcaster.
Later, talking to APP, the federal minister said that the government in the last year had sent over 9,50,000 skilled labourers abroad for employment. The minister said the death grant of overseas Pakistanis had been increased from Rs600,000 to Rs800,000 and the dowery grant from Rs400,000 to Rs600,000.
Sajid Turi said that 800,000 children of overseas Pakistanis and 62,000 students of other Pakistanis were enrolled in his ministry schools. He said many politicians were approaching the leaderships of the Pakistan People’s Party to join the party and senior parliamentarians like Dr Haider Ali and Usman Lala had joined PPP and expressed full confidence in the leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari.
The minister said that land had been required for the construction of Parachinar University and work on the project would start soon.
Later, the federal minister went around different sections of the burnt building of Radio Pakistan and APP Offices.
The minister was briefed about the devastations caused to both national organisations. He was also informed about the burnt auditorium of Abdul Qayyum Khan and Chaghi model mountains destroyed by the violent mob on May 9, 2023. The minister said that PPP stands with employees of both the organisations and the historic building would be rehabilitated more beautifully than before.
