Punjab, Sindh govts have failed minorities, says Imran
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said on Sunday that the governments of Punjab and Sindh had failed to protect the minority communities.
Addressing the participants of the party’s sit-in at D-Chowk on its 67th day, he said the PTI would provide complete protection to minorities if it came to power.
“A PTI government will not allow anyone to violate the rights of the minorities who will get equal rights,” he said.
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“I feel ashamed that the government has failed to protect the rights of the minorities envisaged in the Constitution,” he said.
Fulfilling the promise he had made to participants of the sit-in, the PTI chief appeared on his container along with his sons Qasim and Suleman Khan who had left the country before the launching of his protest march on Aug 14.
“After me, my sons will not become princes of the party because I will not introduce them into politics,” he said.
He said democracy and family politics could not co-exist.
“It appears that our turn to govern the country is quite near,” he said.
Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed alleged that the sufferings of the minorities had increased under the PML-N government. “It is the responsibility of the government to protect the rights of the minorities as a priority task,” he said.
Mr Khan also cut a Diwali cake in his container as other PTI leaders celebrated a ‘minorities’ day’ at the sit-in. The Hindu community will celebrate the festival on Oct 23.
Local leaders of the PTI also led a procession from Ayub Park in Rawalpindi to the D-Chowk in the federal capital.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014