KARACHI: Khwaja Shahabuddin declared in the Pakistan Parliament yesterday [Jan 4] that it was the avowed policy of the Government of Pakistan to give `every freedom` to `every citizen`. There was hardly any other State in the world of today where `people enjoyed greater civil liberties` he claimed.
The declaration was contained in the Minister of Interior`s reply to the Opposition demand for the `right of fair criticism` made in the form of a resolution asking the Government to issue a circular that criticism of a Ministry or a Government should not be construed as an act of disloyalty to the State.
The resolution was voted out.
[Mr] Shahabuddin characterised the resolution as `mischievous in its implications` in so far as it presumed that the criticism of the Ministries was being misconstrued as criticism of the State.
`Facts belie the implication,` he said.
He challenged the Opposition to cite a single example where any citizen of Pakistan was punished for treason or disloyalty for criticising a Government, a Ministry or individual Ministers. On the contrary the Government `invited` healthy criticism. ...
