Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has said that petrol prices are expected to come down, adding that relief will be passed directly to the public in line with the prime minister’s instructions when international prices fall.
Speaking on a Samaa TV programme 'Mere Sawal with Absar Alam', the minister said efforts were under way to ensure safety parameters in Islamabad, adding that a policy of zero tolerance was being enforced in the Capital Development Authority regarding safety standards. He added that a reduction in fuel prices would have a wider impact across all sectors.
Full support for AJK govt
He termed the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as important and sensitive, saying that political point scoring should be avoided. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the federal government were aligned on the matter and that full support was being extended to the AJK government.
He stated that additional support, including Frontier Corps assistance, had been provided to the AJK administration. He said the provincial setup was managing law and order in a responsible manner, and that any disturbance would be met with action by the authorities.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said he had met representatives of a proscribed action committee, adding that no government could tolerate violence. He noted that the committee was based in Rawalakot and would not be granted permission for any march.
He said that elections in Azad Kashmir were scheduled for July 27 and would not be postponed, adding that elections remained the solution to the region’s issues. He said the federal government would not support the imposition of emergency in Azad Kashmir.
The minister added that neither the PPP-led government nor the public would support any move towards emergency, and that elections should be held as planned. He said that a new assembly would be free to take its own decisions, and noted that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also called for timely elections.
He said that elections could be postponed in a district if law and order deteriorated, citing past examples, but clarified that no such consideration was currently being made for any area of Azad Kashmir. He added that the issue remained confined to Rawalakot.
He said no action was desired at present, and that a message had been conveyed to Maulana Fazlur Rehman to help find a solution, adding that negotiations had been closed by the action committee.
He urged the committee to end its sit-in and take part in the electoral process, stating that attempts to spread unrest were part of an agenda linked to India.
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