ISLAMABAD - Minister for Information,Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Wednesday that the government would foil all conspiracies to cash on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) issue for political gains.
Talking to media persons after attending a seminar here at a local hotel, he said that no conspiracy, tactic and political plan of Imran Khan would succeed in this regard.He said that things were in total control on Tuesday, and call for strike had fizzled out and PIA's flights - both domestic and international - were running on schedule.
He said that the patriotic PIA employees had rejected the strike call to keep the Pakistan flag fly high and make the airline a profit making organisation, but suddenly bloodshed made the failed strike into a success.He said that in such a situation, the government need not resort to extreme steps. He said that some elements wanted to disrupt the process of development and progress launched by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the country.He said that some elements wanted to make Karachi operation a failure. In the past they wasted nation's one and half year time in sit-ins, now they wanted to stop the march towards progress through strikes and agitations, but their nefarious designs would fail, he added.
What Imran Khan wanted to achieve by destabilising the democratic process through strikes and agitation, he asked. How many new schools and hospitals would be built and how many job opportunities would be created after the sit-ins and agitation, he said, adding, that Imran Khan was doing politics of unemployment, ignorance and diseases.
But, he said that government would continue its march towards progress and prosperity as Nawaz Sharif had faced many hardships for the sake of the country.He said that Nawaz Sharif was handcuffed and jailed for the sake of the country while Imran Khan was enjoying life by playing cricket.
To a question, he said that the strike call for PIA was a conspiracy as the Prime Minister had asked the office-bearers of the PIA unions to work for improvement of the airline in next six months,and if things improved, the Prime Minister assured decisions would be made in light of the changed situation.He said that Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah has criticised invoking the Essential Services Act for PIA but in the past PPP governments invoked the same law twice. When the PPP used this law it was in national interest,but now when PML-N had invoked the same law it had become a black law, he added. Moreover, he said that PPP government had brought the issue of privatisation on Council of Common Interests (CCI) agenda but now strangely it was opposing the same thing.
He said that maintenance of law and order was responsibility of the provincial government and he would not comment on this issue till the Sindh government gave its viewpoint, otherwise, they would state it was against the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Earlier, in his speech, he said all conscientious people irrespective of their State and religion understood the sufferings of Kashmiris and support this cause.
He said that most of the nations of the world had been granted their birth right one or two nation including Kashmiris. He said that question arose as to why the dark night of Kashmiris slavery was not ending and a new dawn was not coming.

He said ,whenever, the other party came close to sitting on the negotiaitions table and they come to Lahore after realisation that progress and prosperity of the region was not possible till resolution of Kashmir dispute, suddenly something happens and the whole peace process is halted and derailed.
He said it was responsibity of all parties and stakeholders to foil their conspiracies and overcome such hurdles.