Bring proof of rigging or quit assemblies,

Says if Imran is right, KP govt is also product of rigging; path of agitation to cost PTI

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid has said that the country cannot afford the politics of confrontation, and told PTI chief Imran Khan that if he had any proof of rigging in the elections, he should bring them on the floor of the Assembly.

In an interview, the information minister said that Imran Khan would suffer a lot if he proceeded on the path of the politics of agitation with the backing of Tahirul Qadri and Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.

Pervaiz Rashid said if according to Imran Khan, the elections were rigged, then his own party’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also a product of rigging. In this situation, he said, Imran Khan and his party have no right to sit in the assemblies or run the KP government. He asked Imran Khan to resign from the KP government and assemblies and then fulfil his love for protests on the roads.

The minister was confident that Imran Khan would lose his case in the court of the people as he lost in the apex court. He said Imran Khan lost the rigging case in the court and his party’s candidate lost the seat to the PML-N candidate. In this way rigging was done against the PML-N and not the PTI, he argued.

He said Imran Khan has been pursuing the politics of negative tactics and that is why people rejected him in the general elections. He asked the PTI chief to wait for the appropriate time.

Pervaiz Rashid said the PML-N government has been formed with the backing of the people and not with the support of the PTI.

The minister said there is parliament in the country, an independent judiciary and all the institutions are gaining strength. “Instead of agitating on the roads, Imran should bring his case to parliament.” He said the bright future of the country is linked to democracy only.

Polio vaccination proof mandatory for Pakistani nationalists to enter India after March 15

Though the requirement was supposed to come into effect from January, India extended the deadline to allow Pakistan to set up necessary infrastructure.

India on Tuesday announced that proof of vaccination against polio would be mandatory after March 15 for everyone entering India from Pakistan to safeguard the country’s polio-free status.
Travellers from Pakistan will have to carry vaccination certificate, which would be later returned to them along with their visa.
“Pakistani nationals resident in Pakistan and planning to travel to India after March 15, 2014 will be required to submit along with their visa applications a certificate of vaccination for one dose of Oral Polio Vaccination received at least four weeks prior to departure to India,” a statement released by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad said.
India had earlier announced that starting March 15, it would be mandatory for all persons – adults or children – travelling to the country from Pakistan to furnish proof of vaccination against the crippling disease.
“The step is being taken to safeguard India’s polio-free status attained after sustained efforts and investment,” an Indian High Commission official said.
Though the requirement was supposed to come into effect from January, India extended the deadline to allow Pakistan to set up necessary infrastructure.
The measure is applicable to all travellers from all countries where polio disease is endemic or where cases of polio are reported.
The number of polio cases in Pakistan, one of the only three countries where the disease is endemic, crossed over 90 last year. A number of fresh cases have also come to light this year.
Militants and gunmen frequently attack vaccination teams, accusing them of being Western spies and part of a plot to “sterilise” Muslims.
The announcement came on a day when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting on polio at his residence.
Sharif said it is a matter of grave concern that there is a possibility of travel restrictions being imposed on Pakistanis since virus from Pakistan has been found linked to polio cases in other countries.
“Since it is a question of honour, image and prestige of our country, we must redouble our efforts to eradicate polio from our country,” Sharif was quoted as saying in an official statement.