State's responsibility to provide basic rights to the underprivileged: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed that it is the state's responsibility to provide basic rights to the underprivileged.

Addressing the representatives of minority groups at the minorities convention, Imran presented his party's agenda to uplift various religious groups across Pakistan. 

"Minorities were given rights in Madinah's welfare state," said Imran. "But the weak don't get their due rights in Pakistan." 

The PTI chief further said that during the 'enlightened Muslim rule' in the sub-continent, minorities were free to follow their religious beliefs. 

"The more developed a society, the more protected are the weak from the powerful," Imran said. "I have to say it with regret that I receive a lot of complaints from the Hindu community in Sindh that women belonging to the minority are forcefully married to Muslims."

Furthermore, Imran lamented that the law in Pakistan is different for the weak and powerful. Citing the example of American national Raymond Davis, who was not punished for killing a Pakistani man, the PTI chief said, "Had the same incident happened in US, nobody would have cared about diplomatic immunity. The person who was responsible for the accident would have been punished." 

The PTI chief reiterated that only those societies where the supremacy of law prevails are considered civilised. 

"Ask any minority group and the will complain about not getting their rights," he said. 

The politician recalled that the Constitution of Pakistan elaborates on rights of humans. "The Constitution has guaranteed that the state will provide education and health facilities to the people but what is actually available for the common man? Facilities are only available for a small segment of the society," he observed.

Imran takes opponents to task

The PTI chairman took his opponents to task while addressing a rally in Burewala city of Vehari district later in the day.

He said that only two weeks were left in elections, adding, "My heart says that a revolution of change is about to come.

"Had the PTI not been here, then these two parties would have continued taking turns," Imran said, in a clear reference to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party.

"The people had no option in the past, apart from these two parties," he said. "I can see a new dawn and a new Pakistan."

The PTI chief slammed that now children of heads of his rival parties were readying to take turns.

"Maryam had said she did not have a property in Pakistan, let alone in London. Her brother said all those properties belonged to them," he noted.

Turning to the PPP chairman, Imran said "Baby Bilawal has never worked for an hour and now he has come to take over the country."