Prime minister rebukes mob violence
Caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Aug 18 delivered a forceful rebuke to elements involved in burning of churches in Jaranwala earlier this week. “The Pakistani state and society does not align and identify with such elements…Minorities will stay protected. It might be an attempt to harm minorities in the country by marginalised and peripheral groups but the state and society will respond to this sternly and strictly,” the PM said.
“There is a rule of law and there is a rule of order. We will ensure that the rule of order is not compromised in any way. Rule of order would ensure and lead us to rule of law,” he added. “There is no room for chaos or anarchy in any governance system, secular system or religious theocratic system. So we know the sanctity of the order. That would be kept at any cost. Pakistan is shared by all ethnicities, creed and religious backgrounds,” he maintained.
“We would strongly discourage rigidity in any form in this society. We do not stand for the forces of darkness. Rigidity may come in the garb of religion or secularism or any other form. These extreme attitudes are not just unwelcome, they will be discouraged,” he concluded.
The Centre for Governance Research (CGR), under its National Initiative against Organised Crime (NIOC), endorses the sentiments of the caretaker chief executive and recommends immediate formulation of a CVE National Action Plan to be drafted by NACTA in consultation with relevant stakeholders and its approval by the National Security Committee (NSC) under the overall framework of National Internal Security Policy (NISP 2018-23).
Tariq Khosa
Director CGR
19 August 2023