LAHORE - Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun has said that Punjab is the land of brave and courageous people who have always welcomed all and sundry with open arms.
Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, “Punjab is the land of sensible and dignified people. The sincerity and integrity of people of this province is matchless.”
While responding to the allegations of Punjabis’ support to the British and other invaders leveled by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Raja Yasir Humayun said that the PDM leadership was completely unaware about the history of the subcontinent.
“Mahmood Achakzai’s allegations against Punjab are baseless and fabricated,” the minister said, and accused the PDM leadership of attempting to destabilise Pakistan by promoting regionalism and provincialism in the country.
He said that people of Punjab had always foiled the conspiracies of the British and other foreign forces.
The provincial minister said that Achakzai’s assertion that Punjabis aided Shujaul Mulk attack on Afghanistan was a direct attack on the integrity of people of Punjab.
He said that Shujaul Mulk, who was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali, wanted to get his state back in Kabul. “And in order to achieve that, he sought help from the British and local communities of the subcontinent for assembling an army to launch an attack on Afghanistan via Punjab. But Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Ruler of Punjab, did not accept his request to pass through Punjab for attacking Afghanistan,” Humayun elaborated.
Consequently, the minister added, Shujaul Mulk attacked Afghanistan by taking the path of Sindh and Balochistan.
“Leading landlords of Sindh lent their support to Shujaul Mulk instead in the shape of money and other necessary items,” he said, and added, “Amir Tamoor, the son of Shah Shujah, also attacked Kandahar, Afghanistan by taking the route of Balochistan.”
The army of Dost Mohammad, the Ruler of Afghanistan, did not resist the invading forces, paving the way for the formation of Mulk’s government in Kabul, the minister explained.
Raja Yasir Humayun said that during all this activity, “where does Punjab stand?”
“It is a historical fact that Punjab has always chosen not to support the British and other invaders in history,” he asserted.
The minister alleged that PDM leadership was plotting against the country by promoting provincialism and criticising state institutions.
He said that people of Punjab were well aware of the evil designs of opposition leaders, and therefore, they rejected the call of PDM and didn’t attend its event in Lahore on last Sunday.