Kakar brushes off foreign criticism on poll fairness

ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Anwaarul Haq Kakar has brushed off criticism from foreign countries regarding the general elections and said that it is “not that big a deal”.

“We will do if it is required under the country’s laws,” the prime minister said while addressing a news conference at the PM Office.

Kakar, responding to a question regarding the statements of certain countries over the recently held elections, said that if there were any allegations, they would look into them according to the laws of the land and not on the demands of any country.

The prime minister said the demands of his countrymen were more important to the government and advised that the statements by certain US Congressmen should not be taken as ‘sacrosanct’ or gospel truth as they were not speaking on part of the government.

He said Pakistan had a huge diaspora in the United States, some of whom had “quite an active role in domestic politics and have their own inclinations towards domestic politics here so at times it is quite easy for you to settle there, participate in local fundraising and you’ll be able to influence one, two or a few members of US Congress”.

Kakar said US Congress members did not “represent the gospel truth” and were not the “pedestal of do [and] does [not]”.

He said there were other important issues for them to comment on.

Hitting back at the allegations of the caretaker government’s failure to ensure a level playing field in the recently concluded elections, Kakar questioned the validity of further complaints.

He pointed out that PTI loyalists were permitted to contest the polls, prompting him to ask what more was desired.

Prime Minister Kakar challenged the narrative of unfairness, notably highlighting the substantial presence of PTI supporters within the National Assembly.

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“How can accusations of rigging be justified when the PTI-aligned faction constitutes the largest group in the assembly?” he queried.

He emphasized that a large number of independent candidates, supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, emerged as the largest single group in both the national and provincial assemblies' seats through a process he described as ‘free and fair.’

He stressed that the allegations of rigging were generated through social media which were based on misconceptions and contrary to ground realities.

He said that throughout the country’s democratic history, people had always questioned the electoral process.

The prime minister acknowledged that there might have been shortcomings or minor issues, but overall, the elections were held in a manner in which the entire nation and the law-enforcement agencies deserved kudos, especially considering the myriad security challenges faced.

“Where the PTI commanded public support, it received that, achieving results beyond their expectations from the 2018 elections,” he remarked. He further noted that loyalists of incarcerated PTI leaders emerged as successful candidates in the general elections, yet this aspect of the caretaker government's neutrality was not being duly appreciated.

In response to a query, the PM highlighted that despite numerous threats preceding the February 8 election day and two terrorist attacks in Balochistan, all stakeholders deserved commendation for the significant achievement of ensuring the peaceful conduct of the polls.

He also brushed aside any notion of threats to the integrity of the country stemming from certain protests and agitations held by specific parties, stating that it was “absurd” to draw parallels with the situation in Dhaka during 1971.

“Such comparisons are merely rhetoric. Pakistan is a stable and responsible nation. The peaceful exercise of protest is a democratic right of the people,” he emphasized but hastened to add that no government could permit a situation that leads to chaos or anarchy.

Responding to a query, he maintained that over 60 million voters had exercised their constitutional right to elect their favourite candidates under ‘a pressure-free environment’.

Kakar explained that the delay in announcing the official results was attributed to the specific procedures involved in compiling results from the 92,000 polling stations and credited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for conducting the massive exercise in a smooth manner.

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He said that the official results were announced within 36 hours while during the 2018 elections, it took almost 66 hours. There might be irregularities but the relevant forums were available to address those grievances.

In Sweden, the similar exercise almost took 10 to 11 days while in Indonesia, almost a month was consumed to furnish results, he added.

To another question, the prime minister said that mobile phone services were suspended on the polling day due to security threats as the government could not compromise on the security of people.

On the other hand, the broadband internet services were available on that day, enabling the people to get connected, he said and rebuffed allegations that the move was aimed at managing the social media.

He said there were other occasions throughout the year, when the mobile services had been suspended to avert security threats.

The elections in Pakistan were held in a free and fair manner and there was no institutional mechanism to favour any group, he stressed.

Responding to a query about the prospects of forming a commission to investigate the polls allegations, he maintained that it would be up to the upcoming elected government to make assessments over such demands and decide, but he would not speculate about it.

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About the security threats, he said that there were credible reports of terrorist attacks in the country prior to the election date which could not be divulged in the public domain. A leader of the banned Daesh was neutralized during an operation in Qilla Saifullah who was involved in terrorist attacks in Balochistan.

The caretaker prime minister also agreed with the President’s views over the need of introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and said that according to his personal view, the political parties should hold threadbare discussions in the next parliament over the issue and legislate if required so that the new electoral system could be more acceptable to all.

He expressed the optimism that after the current transitional period was over and the new government was formed, there would be a positive wave hitting the markets and businesses, adding that economic challenges would still await the next government.

The prime minister also hailed the entry of new voters and said that they would make positive contributions to the democratic process in the future.

To a question, he said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had no issue with the privatization process of the caretaker government.

Expressing his disapproval of the incidents of political confrontation in the recent years, he said that all political parties and society should move beyond such negative trends leading to animosity and tiffs.

“We should get rid of this vicious circle of confrontation by changing attitudes. Political differences should not lead to rifts within the society,” he added.

He also wished speedy recovery to Mohsin Dawar, a candidate in North Waziristan and said that violent way of protest and agitation should not be taken to a point of anarchy and chaos.

About formation of the new government, the prime minister said that they were eager to hand over reigns of the government to the elected representatives of the people.

The speaker of the National Assembly would initiate the required process and he thought that the exercise could take eight to nine days depending upon the outcome of the negotiations of the political parties.

APP