Caretaker setup only after consultation with stakeholders: Kaira

Information Minister rules out a Tahrir Square in Pakistan, saying independent judiciary, media are still active.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Saturday said that the caretaker set-up would be formed after consultation with all the stakeholders.

Talking to media persons after the 75th foundation day ceremony of Radio Pakistan Lahore, Kaira said that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) was ready for dialogues with anyone, even with the Taliban.

The information minister said that the Constitution had clearly defined the procedure for a caretaker set-up. Both the opposition and the government are parts of the Parliament and represent the nation and it was their prerogative to decide about the caretakers. Hence anything against the Constitution would be unacceptable, but, all suggestions within the domain of Constitution will be welcomed, he said.

Replying to a question, he said that the nation was worried about the announcement of long march by Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. Rather, Kaira suggested that Dr Qadri should instead approach the Election Commission if he has any objections on the electoral process.

Kaira suggested Qadri should first decide about taking part in the elections and then get his party registered with the Election Commission in line with the constitutional process.

The minister told the media that long marches should be held against dictatorship rather than against any democratic set-up.

Replying to a question, he said that there would be no Tahrir Square in Pakistan since a democratic government, a responsible opposition, an independent judiciary, an independent Election Commission and responsible media were operating in the country to safeguard the public’s interests.

Arab Spring-like uprisings, Kaira said, suit only those countries where there is dictatorship and the people have no say in the government‘s affairs.

The information minster urged all political parties to shun their differences and work together for the resolution of all problems.