Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that it was a wrong impression that the army opposed holding dialogue with the Taliban, adding that all institutions would be duty bound to implement any policies and decisions taken by the government.
Talking to media personnel at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) after the launch of a book on Saturday, Rasihd said that there was no difference of opinion between the government and the army as far as dialogue with the Taliban was concerned. He added that all the institutions were duty bound to implement the government’s decisions.
Furthermore, he said that Karachi’s cleanup operation would succeed and added that the Federal government was taking the Sindh government along in this task.
He said that the All Parties Conference (APC) was being called in the best interests of the country and that no political leader could afford to refuse participation in it. He said that a high level meeting in Lahore under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s chairmanship on Saturday gave the final approval for the APC’s arrangements. He added that the meeting was attended by the Interior Minister and the Army Chief among others.
On the power crisis, Rashid said that the government would give a Rs 170 billion subsidy on electricity this year and that all resources were being used to overcome the crisis. He said that Pakistan had been forced to increase the POL prices as there had been an increase in the international prices of the commodity.
