ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday expressed confidence all “designs and attempts made by the gang of corrupt politicians” against the government of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will not succeed in fulfilling their purpose.
Using the game of cricket as a metaphor, the prime minister said a captain is always ready to counter the attacks of his opponent team.
“Whatever planning these corrupt [politicians] have done, I am ready to foil their attempts [to dislodge the government],” he said while addressing an event in connection with International Women’s Day at Fatima Jinnah Women University in Rawalpindi.
Khan reiterated that he was committed to the “war against corrupt politicians” he had waged.
He said Pakistan, on the occasion of its creation in 1947 was envisioned as a country with a rule of law and vowed he would not give any relief to the corrupt political elite who had plundered the exchequer.
“Once again, I’m making it loud and clear I won’t extend the gang of thieves and dacoits any relief in the form of an NRO-like (national reconciliation ordinance) concession,” he said.
He observed that a “powerful thief” was more detrimental to the country for blatantly quashing the sanctity of rule of law.
In a thinly-veiled reference to deposed prime minister Nawaz Shareef, Khan said certain corrupt politicians in possession of the luxury apartments in the city of London were refusing to surrender before the law.
The prime minister said his government would be remembered for the historic steps taken for the empowerment of women in Pakistan.
He recalled that Islam gave inheritance rights to women 1,500 years ago, however, regretted that a large population in Pakistan was denying the same to their women.
Khan said his government made amendments in inheritance laws to ensure women’s ownership of property.
He urged the students to raise awareness among women to get a realisation about their rights.
He emphasised the role of educated women in the refinement of society and recalled how his mother helped him grow in life.
The prime minister mentioned his government was providing an increased number of scholarships and stipends to women than men with a ratio of 60-40 percent.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem said Islam provided rights to women including ownership of property.
He said during four years of the PTI government, structural amendments were made in laws relating to women to avoid delay in the dispensation of justice.
Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said his efforts in the ’90s led to the establishment of the institution as the nation’s first dedicated women university, besides opening up several schools for girls.
He announced the donation of his residence, the historic pre-Partition Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi, to be turned into an educational facility for women.
Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Maleeka Bokhari said the government was focusing on ensuring the rights of women, including their economic empowerment.
She urged the students of the facility to raise awareness about the campaign regarding the protection of women’s property rights and help the victim in applying to case of denial of her such rights.
A documentary film highlighting the importance of the inheritance rights of women was screened on the occasion.
