Government has nothing to do with ban on motorbikes: Khursheed Shah

In what appeared to be an expected move, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Ahmed Shah dissociated the government from Rehman Malik’s decision to ban riding motorbikes and cellular services in Quetta and Karachi.

The latest development showed supporters of Interior Minister Rehman Malik are dwindling day by day. The religious minister made it clear that the interior minister had taken such decisions in his personal capacity and that the government had nothing to do with the move.

He was of the opinion that it would have been better if a public holiday had been declared, instead of causing inconvenience to the public.

It is vital to mention here that the Sindh High Court (SHC) had suspended the ban on motorcycle riding soon after the minister issued the directives but residents of Karachi had to do without cellular service for nearly 12 hours on Friday.  Rehman Malik later challenged the SHC’s decision in the apex court.

Shah said that that the decision to challenge the ban was also Malik’s own. Replying to a query about the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader expressed hope that a drastic operation will be launched against criminals in the city, but only if the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) were all on board.

Appreciating the decision of the National Judicial Policymaking Committee (NJPC) to allow judicial officers to work as returning officers during the general elections, the minister said that the judiciary also wanted democracy to flourish in the country.

He noted, “A caretaker set-up will be announced soon, and the elections will take place according to schedule. The police and Rangers will be deployed for maintaining law and order during the elections, while the army will also be patrolling various areas.”

The minister was of the opinion that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson should reveal the identity of the culprits, as well as, those politicians whom he accuses of being corrupt.

Claiming that the government’s agriculture policy has resulted in Pakistan not needing to import wheat anymore, he said the government used to spend more than Rs50 billion every year for purchasing wheat growers from Australia and Canada, but not anymore.

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Posted by Web Desk on Nov 19 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.