"The government considers elections as an “amanat” (of the people) which will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution,” says Premier Ashraf. PHOTO: AFP
Asserting that his government will complete its full tenure “come what may” the prime minister said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government will not let any force derail democracy.
In his opening remarks while presiding over a federal cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf predicted that the parliamentary system will continue to strengthen.
“The coalition government is going to complete its tenure and is heading towards elections. The government considers elections as an “amanat” (of the people) which will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution,” said Premier Ashraf.
During the session he also condemned the recent spate of militant attacks across the country and reiterated the government’s resolve to combat terrorism. “Extremism, militancy and intolerance are the challenges which are a matter of high concern for us,” he stated.
“As a New Year’s resolution, we reiterate [our resolve] to fight terrorism and other evils with the blessing of Allah and support patriotic forces of the country.”
The cabinet in unison also expressed deep sorrow and condemned the current wave of terrorism including the assassination of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, 21 Levies personnel, polio vaccinators in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, the attack on Bacha Khan Airport, Peshawar, the recent explosion at Mastung killing 19 pilgrims and the blast in Karachi killing four people and injuring 45.
“The world knows that we have lost 30,000 civilian men, women and children, more than 5,000 armed forces personnel and billions of dollars in the war against terrorism,” the prime minister said.
“We have resolved to use all available resources to crush it (terrorism), therefore, terrorists have increased their attacks to destabilise the government.”
‘’I feel that poverty and illiteracy are the major root causes of extremism and terrorism, and absorption of our unemployed people in gainful employment would stop them from falling into the trap of terrorists’’.
Kaira’s briefing
Later‚ briefing newsmen about the cabinet meeting‚ Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the cabinet has reiterated the commitment to solve problems being faced by the country in accordance with the Constitution and parliamentary practices.
He said that the Ministry of Commerce has been directed to ensure implementation on abolishing the negative list of trade with India.
Kaira revealed that a three-member ministerial committee had been formed for guidelines regarding gas distribution and prices of gas — the committee is tasked with submitting a report within three days.
Responding to a query regarding Tahirul Qadri, the information minister said, “The long march issue was not discussed in Thursday’s cabinet meeting. It is not an important issue and there is a need to handle it administratively.
“Dr Tahirul Qadri poses no threat to any political party; he should join the political process and give his proposals to the election commission‚ if he has any.”
He stated that though an independent judiciary and election commission were functioning, the power of decision-making ultimately rested with the people. “According to the Constitution, there is no room for the judiciary or the military in the interim setup,” he said.
Kaira said polls would take place before May 16 — the day that marks the completion of the caretaker set-up.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2013.
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Sir no one wants to derail democracy or the present government which has almost completed its tenure. Unless you want an extension, you are bluffing the public.
Any learned person will understand that Qadri's demands are the essence of a true democracy. Today's "democracy" is where a villager cannot dare to vote against the wishes of his sardar. When we talk about "dhandhli" we forget about the rural area, where 90% of the rigging takes place. In cities we raise voice through social and electronic media about one or two incidents and turn them into watergate scandals. Our media doesn't even have access to 65% of rural polling stations in Sindh, Balochistan, KP, FATA & Punjab!
As seen in the recent by-polls the Election Commission was totally powerless in implementing its rules in Punjab. The ruling provincial party conducted massive rigging through the use of government & police resources and open display of heavy firearms. The coming elections simply cannot be free & fair with "muk-muka" and behind the curtain deals by the two status quo parties.