QUETTA: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal warned on Friday that sit-ins and political chaos would create uncertainty in the country, adding that terrorists could take benefit of political turmoil.

Mr Ahsan said this during a visit to the Methodist Church which recently came under a terrorist attack. He was accompanied by Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf. Inspector General of Balochistan Muazzam Jah Ansari briefed the ministers on the attack.

“Destabilising Pakistan would be beneficial for our enemies,” the interior minister said. “Our western border (already) is being used for terrorist activities in Pakistan and they (the enemies) want to weaken our country by fomenting terrorism.”

Condemning the church attack, he said terrorists did not belong to any religion or sect because they had been targeting mosques, Imambargahs, churches and other places of worship.

Referring to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia, he said ministers and lawmakers frequently visited the kingdom.

About the spat between Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, Mr Iqbal said the army had clarified its position at a press briefing by the ISPR DG and Mr Rafique had also clarified his stance and, therefore, speculations should end now.

Denouncing Indian involvement in fueling terrorism in Pakistan, he said detained Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav had confessed that he was on a mission to fund terrorists for attacking projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPCE).

The minister for religious affairs also condemned the Church attack and praised the Christian community’s patience for peace in the country.

Meanwhile, Ahsan Iqbal inaugurated the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University’s sub-campus in Pishin.

Talking to the media on that occasion, he said peace and development in Pakistan were possible only “when we educate our children because poverty and deprivation could lead the country to strife”.

“It is not time for leg pulling because we have already suffered a lot. I invite all stakeholders and political forces to join hands with the government for development (of the country) and prosperity of our future’s generation.”

Terming the CPEC a game changer for Pakistan, Mr Iqbal said in the beginning the multi-billion project was mired in controversies and some people said Pakhtun areas had deliberately been ignored in the project.

“Now, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Parvez Khattak is supporting the CPEC more than anyone else because he has been convinced that the project will equally benefit all provinces.”

Prominent among those who attended the inauguration ceremony were Provincial Minister Dr Hamid Achakzai, MPA Liaquat Agha, Vice Chancellor of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University Rukhsana Jabeen, DIG of Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema and Deputy Commissioner of Pishin Balach Aziz Baloch.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2017