Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Sunday warned that there is no room for anyone who switches political allegiance.
Rafique emphasised the importance of the delimitation of constituencies, highlighting that it would strengthen the democratic system but would not benefit any of the political parties individually.
The minister said this while attending the wedding of Minister of Foreign Affairs Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s daughter. He stated that consensus had been drawn on the new delimitation bill by all parties following a discussion.
Also, present on the occasion were Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Minister for Commerce and Textiles Mohammad Pervaiz Malik.
Meanwhile, the state interior minister stated that the PML-N has had to give up nine seats in Punjab after the recent census results. With regards to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan, Chaudhry claimed that he delivered irresponsible statements and therefore, they should not be given much importance.
Later, speaking to the media after meeting a committee representing the protesters, who are staging a sit-in at the Faizabad interchange for over a week against the government’s change and then reversal of the finality of Prophethood oath for lawmakers, he said Khawaja Saad Rafique said Law and Justice Minister Zahid Hamid’s efforts made it possible to make Sections 7B and 7C a part of the Constitution.
‘Section 7B states that the status of Ahmedis remains as stated in the Constitution of Pakistan, while section 7C states that if an enrolled voter’s belief in the finality of Prophet Muhammad’s Prophethood differs, they shall have to sign a declaration stating so, failing which their “name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim.”
Rafique said that Sections 7B and 7C were ‘dead laws’ before they became a permanent part of the Constitution due to the law minister’s efforts.
“We have responded to all of their [protesters’] reservations with logical arguments,” he said, adding that the government is ‘not in the least bit’ inclined to use ‘power.’
“We don’t want to use power to disperse the protest but this shouldn’t mean that the protesters continue to paralyse the federal capital and deprive hundreds of thousands of citizens of their basic rights,” he stressed.
The minister further said that the government is bound to act upon the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to end the sit-in. “We appeal to the protesters to respect the rights of the citizens,” Rafique said.
Talks between the government and protest leaders failed on Monday with no breakthrough in sight as the protest leaders continue to demand Hamid’s resignation.