The National Assembly Monday strongly condemned the irresponsible statement of a Canadian parliamentarian against Pakistan and its institutions and also demanded from the Canadian government to take a strict notice of the matter.
Initially, the debate on the matter was started by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in his address. The minister urged the Canadian government to take notice of the statement of a Canadian parliamentarian as well as punish him as per law. Asif said Parliamentarian Tom Kmiec targeted Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and talked about the internal situation of Pakistan. He said a government was removed in Pakistan as a result of a democratic procedure, which was endorsed by the judiciary.
Asif further said it was an irony that western countries always exercise selective sense of justice and look aside when there is a matter of the rights of Muslims in Kashmir, Palestine and Myanmar. He said Canada had become a leading country of the G-7 group regarding the rising incidents of Islamophobia in the last five years.
Asif said Imran had divided the nation in such a way that this divide might never go away. “Imran Khan not only divided Pakistanis in Pakistan, but also abroad. That is why a person in Canada abuses us. He did not even leave the Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque. He spreads hate everywhere. He could not give love to his blood relatives, how can he give love to this nation,” Asif said.
He said the people involved in the incident at Masjid-e-Nabwi were mostly British citizens. “These are wealthy people and have taken oaths from different countries. Their loyalties are shared. I respect them but they should not damage the country they were born in, the defence minister added. Asif accused the former premier of using state institutions during his tenure for his own benefits and against political opponents. “Imran Khan’s legacy is hate and poison. He has taken us several years back and has destroyed society. Today, many still support him but in a few years everyone will understand,” he said, adding that his government will never use state institutions against anyone.
He criticised the human rights record of Canada, saying that the country was among the top Islamophobic countries in the world.
“I have information of Canada’s internal issues but I don’t want to raise them as we have good relations with Canada for over seven decades,” he said and added that the remarks do not represent the entire country were individual’s own opinion.
“I respect the Canadian government. I understand it is an isolated incident. But many incidents are taking place. Do Muslims not have human rights,” he questioned.
Leader of the Opposition, Raja Riaz endorsed the points raised by the defense minister. “I strongly condemn the remarks given by the Canadian parliamentarian,” he said, requesting Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to decide the resignation of the former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
“He tendered his resignation while standing in this house and you put it pending for final approval,” he recalled. Some other members of the House, including federal minister Shazia Mari also condemned the Canadian MP’s statement.
Shazia said, “this is called actual interference”, adding, “Pakistan is a sovereign state and we will never compromise this sovereignty.” She claimed that the government would defend the county at all costs. PTI dissident member Muhammad Aslam Botani regretted the development budget cuts by the government. “After repeated request to prime minister and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, hardly Rs400 million has been included that would be released in five parts,” he said.
Another dissident member of PTI Khalid Magsi also criticized the government.
“The PTI government was to be changed and we supported it but when we found the claims merely in speeches, we parted our ways. The government was changed for another purpose but now its purpose has become something else. We are asking for the chairmanship of a committee and a small ministry.
They decide themselves but did not take us into confidence,” he regretted. The House also discussed the Charged Expenditure included in Demands for Grants and Appropriations for the next financial year.
Charged expenditures totaling over 27.88 trillion rupees relate to different departments and services including Pakistan Post, Foreign Missions, National Assembly, the Senate as well as repayment of foreign and domestic debt. During debate, many members suggested some budget cuts from the annual budget in order to shrink the unnecessary expenditures.
