By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Friday said the prime minister spoke on the rights of Pakistanis living abroad, especially the labour class, adding that the overseas Pakistanis had shown great trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He cited the fact that remittances from Pakistanis abroad had touched record high and they were playing an important role in building the national economy.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, Chaudhry asked why action should not be taken against those in the foreign services.
It is pertinent here to mention that Prime Minister Imran Khan, while speaking to envoys posted in 19 countries through video conferencing, said he had noticed “shocking callousness” of Pakistani diplomats posted overseas after a few recent incidents involving expatriates.
During the presser, the information minister said: “There are incidents where embassy officials placed rocks and blocked routes to (Pakistani) embassies so labour could not enter. Should proceedings not be initiated against them?” He said that the details of events which had caused Prime Minister Imran Khan to address the country’s ambassadors and point out their mistakes should be examined.
He added that in one instance, an embassy which is currently under investigation, had mishandled the case of a woman being continuously raped while working at someone’s home. The minister said that the victim had approached the embassy to seek help.
“However, the officer present had told her off by saying: ‘You’ve already had three divorces before. Why don’t I hand you over to the police?’ This response led her to go back to the house,” he said. “If Pakistan’s prime minister doesn’t talk about this behaviour, then who will? If the government and the prime minister can’t stand with the working class and the poor then what right do we have to remain in government?”
The information minister further added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government stood by the weaker sections of the society against the powerful people. “If our prime minister cannot stand by weaker Pakistanis then we have no right to remain in power,” he said. The minister said the powerful section of the society had to realize that the weaker section was their responsibility.
He said he was surprised at the reaction of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership over the prime minister’s remarks.
