No issue with ‘PTI coming to power’ via vote

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi on Saturday said no country in the world gave the media access to those who were involved in serious crimes. Speaking to WION News, the minister said the former chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been convicted and his conviction had not been set aside. “He remains convicted and charged with serious crimes,” he added.

“As we speak, the PTI remains a registered political party and if people bring its leaders in the federal and provincial assemblies, the caretaker government has no problem. It’s the people of Pakistan who have to make this decision,” the minister remarked. To a query, he said all political parties were being treated equally as the state had no favourites.

The state media was giving due coverage to all the political parties. “So far, the only constitutional body entrusted with holding free and fair elections is the Election Commission of Pakistan that stands committed to hold the elections on Thursday, February 8, 2024,” Solangi said in response to another query.

He said the constitutional caretaker government was committed to supporting the ECP in every possible way for the elections and “we will support the Election Commission in administrative, financial, and security matters”. Every political party was playing the role of a victim, he said. “If you ask the PTI, they will say we are not getting a level-playing field, especially in Punjab and K-P, and if you ask the Peoples Party, they will say we are not getting a level-playing field in Punjab.

“Likewise, if you ask the PML-N, they will say we are not getting a level-playing field in Sindh. If you ask Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI, he will say we are not getting a level-playing field in Balochistan and K-P due to security issues,” the minister noted. He said the caretaker government had no vested interest in any political party.

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“We are here to provide any kind of support to the Election Commission which is responsible for holding the elections and creating a conducive environment for them. “We should wait for the results after elections are conducted on February 8. Once the people speak their mind when they go to polls to elect a party or a group of party, I am sure we will get political stability,” the minister said in response to another query.

He said it was written in the preamble of the Constitution that the country would be run by the people’s representatives through credible elections. On the Pakistan and Afghanistan relations, he said it was squarely depended on the behaviours and actions of the interim Afghan government. “If they continue to harbour terrorists, including the TTP, I am afraid the future of those relations does not seem to be right,” he remarked.

He ruled out negotiation with any armed group until and unless they laid down their arms and recognised the Constitution of Pakistan as a governing document and the supreme law of the land. To another query, he said elections were on the cards both in India and Pakistan and “once we have elected governments in both countries and they get fresh mandates, we can hope that they will discuss the issues, including long-standing disputes both the countries have since three quarters of a century”.

He said the caretaker government was born out of a constitutional process and would not do anything illegal. The minister said many countries, including the western ones, had taken extraordinary measures in extraordinary situations during the elections. The incumbent government fully believed in the freedom of press and expression, he said in response to another query.