Election field is open to all: Kakar

NEW YORK:

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has said that no political party will be barred from participating in the electoral process, but made it clear that in case of vandalism, they will have to face the law.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan has not issued a notification of banning any political party and no political party will be prevented from participating in the election process,” Kakar said while addressing the media at the Pakistan Mission in New York.

To a question, he said the ECP was mandated to hold the general elections and the final date would be announced soon.
Recently, the Election Commission of Pakistan made an announcement that general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024, without giving a date.

Kakar added that all registered political parties had the right to take part in the poll as the ECP did not ban any party from the process.

Rubbishing the notion of victimisation, the prime minister said, “Anyone who is involved in violence against the state will be dealt with under the law of the land as Pakistan was a sovereign state.”

In the wake of the allegations of human rights violations in the country, the prime minister asserted that Pakistan was not accountable to any government or congressman.

“We are not accountable to any government; we are not accountable to any congressman — absolutely not!” PM Kakar said, highlighting the robust bond between Pakistan and the US.

He was also questioned about the recent arrests, particularly those of women, which came in the wake of a crackdown against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after its members and supporters violently reacted to the arrest of party Chairman Imran Khan in May.

The prime minister said the country's laws were impartial, not favouring any gender, and applied to all citizens equally.

The interim prime minister also called for the formation of an alliance to keep a check on India for its “rogue behaviour” after Ottawa accused New Delhi of committing the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.

He added that the gruesome murder of the Khalistan Movement Sikh leader had jolted the West, raising serious questions about the role of the Indian state.

Read more: PM Kakar calls for alliance to keep check on India's ‘rough behaviour’

The prime minister said Pakistan had been a victim of such state-sponsored terrorism and shared evidence of the “Pakistan centric” effort at different global and multilateral fora highlighting New Delhi's role in such incidents.

He said countries were now realising how India was persecuting its minorities like Christians, Sikhs, and Muslims.

Also, in an interview with the US-based weekly magazine Newsweek, the prime minister said that bringing economic stability in the country was the foremost priority of the government and in this regard, a comprehensive economic revival plan was in force. He said assisting the process of elections was one of the prime duties of the caretaker government.

“We will be assisting and supporting the process, and while doing so really try to focus on the economic revival plan. That is the biggest challenge.”

The prime minister pointed out that the caretaker government was deeply concerned about the situation of stability.

“At the moment, it’s pretty much under control. It’s something which we fully and lawfully monitor, and we are in charge to pull all the strings when it comes to stability.”

With respect to Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, he said it would take some time to get relations with neighbouring Afghanistan’s de facto government better.

“It’ll take a bit of time, but we are quite confident that we will be able to manage that.

“We do have a larger perspective and outlook on the whole of the region. But these day-to-day events do mire and complicate our relationship at times. But we’re trying to manage it in a manner which is mutually beneficial to both sides,” he added.

Also read: Canada row wake-up call on India: PM

To another question regarding the US’ attention in the South Asian region, PM Kakar said as a Pakistani and someone coming from that region, he would be very much baffled if that region was being ignored or if it deserved less attention by the United States, because this was where actually a lot of things were happening.

“A population of around three to four billion resides in that region. How do you ignore four billion people? How do you pay less attention to four billion people out of eight billion? Almost half of humanity resides there.”

He said there were potential conflicts in those areas.

“It would be very stingy on my part not to mention Kashmir, because it is a flashpoint between two nuclear states. God forbid, if there is any sort of military confrontation between the two nuclear powers, how would that translate to the region? How would that translate outside the region? What sort of implications would it have for the European continent? What implications will it have across the planet into North America and the rest?”

The prime minister expressed his concerns over the entire so-called “Indo-Pacific” policy of the Western Hemisphere via the encirclement of a regional power around South China.

“We do view it and we are closely monitoring all the developments.

“The so-called Indo-Pacific strategy is done for the objectives which suit Western powers…so, there is an element of concern and there is a legitimate sense of caution on the Pakistani side, we are closely monitoring that…and we are trying to do our own preparedness to respond to such a challenge,” he added. 

(With additional input from news desk)