‘Pakhtuns have every right to live in Punjab’

lahore — Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said Pakhtuns had the complete right to reside in Punjab, and the allegations being raised in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh of their victimisation were only attempts to “spread hatred”, reports Dawn online.

He was speaking to reporters following a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and a delegation from the Pakhtun community led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Amir Muqam.

“Pakhtuns living in Punjab are our brothers,” he quoted the chief minister as saying. “They have the same right to live and conduct business in Punjab as anyone else”.

He also said Pakistanis all over the country have to combat terrorism together, regretting that the common man sometimes had to face problems during search operations.

The minister said efforts will also be made to accommodate some suggestions made by Muqam, which include the consideration of the “protection of the four walls of houses” and “people’s dignity” during search operations.

“It is highly condemnable that some so-called political parties and leaders in Sindh and KP are scoring political points on the matter ... they want to gain people’s sympathies by spreading fear among them,” he said. “This is enmity against the country.”

KP lawmakers on Monday had condemned the “racial” policies of the Punjab government and the “victimisation” of Pakhtuns in Punjab. Their provincial assembly — through a unanimously adopted resolution — had condemned the harassment and ethnic profiling of Pakhtuns in Punjab, Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

They had also called for the release of individuals arrested during the ongoing crackdown. “The people of KP, including businessmen, traders and daily wagers, have settled in Punjab and other areas (of the country). Unemployment and militancy have forced Pakhtuns to migrate to other provinces to earn a living, but they are being victimised,” said the resolution.