Abdul Qadir Patel clarifies statement about DG ASF

ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel has clarified his statement about Director General Airports Security Force (DG ASF) after he launched criticism against him, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

In a clarification, Abdul Qadir Patel said that his statement was misinterpreted and a wrong impression was created. “At the airport, some happenings gave an impression that some people are more respectable and others are just common persons. I talked about my experience.”

“At that time, I didn’t know that those people belong to the security forces and they are on-duty personnel. We have always adopted the stance in principle that the security forces are rendering sacrifices for our future and front-line defence of the country. I am in favour of their security too.”

The health minister said, “I want to apologise if my statement offend some people. We don’t want to discourage our on-duty personnel from the security institutions.”

A few days ago, Patel, while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly (NA), said that three federal ministers including him, Shazia Marri and Abid Hussain Bhayo were pushed back at the airport when they were departing to Islamabad for the NA session.

“Later, I was informed that he was DG ASF and he is receiving the security protocol like the heads of the state. It is sorrowful that we are told to adopt austerity but other people should also think about it and be realistic.”