KARACHI, Sep 19 (APP):Federal Minister for States, Frontier Regions, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan, Engineer Ameer Maqam, Thursday, said that proposed constitutional amendments will be tabled in the house after due consultations and achieving consensus of all the political parties and other stakeholders.
While addressing to elders of Afghan Refugees and later talking to media during visit of Urban Cohesion Hub Karachi here, he said that negotiations were under way with the political parties and consultation process was continue in connection with the proposed amendments aimed at introducing reforms in judicial system and ensuring swift justice to the people of the country.
The government has initiated the process of constitutional amendment in the best interest of the people of Pakistan and there were no personal motives involved in it, he said and urged all the political leadership to join the hands of government for betterment of the country and the nation.
The Federal minister was of the view that some elements were opposing the amendments only for the sake of political number scoring.
Ameer Maqam said that Pakistan has been hosting more than 3 million Afghan refugees which included around 1.4 million legal migrants and thousands of illegal immigrants for over 40 years. There was no other country in the world that has hosted such a large number of refugees for such a long time, he added.
The federal and provincial governments as well as national and international organizations were striving hard to resolve the issues of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and holistic measures were being taken for their repatriation to Afghanistan, he said adding that repatriation of Afghan nationals illegally staying in Pakistan was policy of the government but we are not using coercive measures for achieving the objective.
It is deplorable that some elements had overlooked the sincere efforts taken by government and people of Pakistan for assistance and welfare of Afghan nationals and they were proactively pursuing an agenda of creating rifts and inciting hatred between the brotherly neighbors, he noted and opined that those elements were not well-wishers of Afghans.
Terming peace in Afghanistan vital for peace and stability in Pakistan and vice versa, the federal minister urged the Afghan government to take measures those benefit people of both the countries and reject those elements and their nefarious agenda and make them accountable for their irresponsible activities which defy the norms, morals as well as national and international laws.
We believe that majority of Afghanis possesses sentiments of respect and love for Pakistan and they do not support agenda of those self-centered anti-Pakistan elements,” he maintained while referring to some recent incidents of disrespect to Pakistani national flag and national anthem.
The organizers of the event in Peshawar were involved in the conspiracy against the homeland but those will be made accountable for their anti-state ambitions, Ameer Maqam alleged and termed it as the third attempt over the national solidarity and integrity after the ill planned cypher narrative and incident of May 9.
The federal minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was steering the nation out of the crisis as inflation has descended to single digit from the highest ever level, Rupee is getting stability, Stock market was expanding, law and order was under control in Karachi and status of the country was improving at the international level.
All these positive developments were not being digested by dissenting elements having a narrow mindset of prioritizing a single person over the homeland, he said adding, “A person who calls himself a Pakistani must keep the Pakistan supreme while setting all his personal whims aside.”
The federal minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for struggle of People of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir for their right of self determination and said that Indian oppressive regime was playing drama of elections in IIOJK to suppress the real representatives of the people.
Pakistan rejects bogus elections in IIOJK and will only support the resolution of the Kashmir issue as per aspirations of the people of the occupied area and in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations, he stated.
The Federal minister also stressed on international community to play its role for bringing an end to atrocities over the innocent people of Palestine and IIOJK and ensure implementation on UN resolutions regarding the internationally recognized conflicts.
Earlier the head of Afghan refugees in Sindh Haji Abdullah Shah Bukhari extended his gratitude to people and government of Pakistan for providing assistance in time need. He also thanked the federal and provincial governments as well as national and international organizations for providing education and skill development opportunities to Afghan children and youth.
The federal minister paid a visit to Urban Cohesion Hub established for promoting social cohesion between Afghan refugees and the host communities. He, at the occasion, also inspected various sections of the hub including literacy, tailoring, learning center, computer lab, English learning and medical services section.
