Careless whispers: Khoso for impartiality amid calls for Habib’s removal
PM warns Malik Habib over statement favouring PML-N chief.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso holds a meeting with Interior Minister Malik Muhammad Habib. PHOTO: PPI
ISLAMABAD:
Days after three political groupings demanded the resignation of caretaker Interior Minister Malik Habib for issuing a statement in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), interim Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso directed his cabinet to remain impartial.
But the warning from the interim PM did not satisfy the complainants seeking nothing less than the removal of the interior minister.
“The man (interior minister) should have been sacked,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) information secretary Shafqat Mehmood told The Express Tribune on Saturday.
“This is a half-hearted measure,” Mehmood said in response to a question. “We are not satisfied with what steps the PM had taken in this regard.”
PTI was the first political party to point out Interior Minister Malik Muhammad Habib’s statement and demand his resignation. The move was followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Habib was accused of showing political leanings when he described PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif as the only real leader in Pakistan.
Similarly, Senator Saeed Ghani from the PPP told The Express Tribune that his party was of the opinion that the directions issued by the PM were “not enough and the minister should be removed.”
The MQM had appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari and the Election Commission of Pakistan for the dismissal of interim interior ministers. Wasay Jalil of the MQM said the minister should clarify his statement on the media, “and then we will see.”
Earlier in the day, the PM held a meeting with the interior minister and reminded the minister about the role of caretakers.
According to a statement issued by the PM House, Khosa while talking to the interior minister said that the mandate of the caretaker government was to ensure free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“It is, therefore, necessary that the caretaker government, its ministers and the government machinery not only conducts itself impartially but also be seen doing so,” the statement quoted the premier as saying.
During the meeting, the interior minister said the statement ascribed to him was made with good intensions.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2013.
Days after three political groupings demanded the resignation of caretaker Interior Minister Malik Habib for issuing a statement in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), interim Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso directed his cabinet to remain impartial.
But the warning from the interim PM did not satisfy the complainants seeking nothing less than the removal of the interior minister.
“The man (interior minister) should have been sacked,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) information secretary Shafqat Mehmood told The Express Tribune on Saturday.
“This is a half-hearted measure,” Mehmood said in response to a question. “We are not satisfied with what steps the PM had taken in this regard.”
PTI was the first political party to point out Interior Minister Malik Muhammad Habib’s statement and demand his resignation. The move was followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Habib was accused of showing political leanings when he described PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif as the only real leader in Pakistan.
Similarly, Senator Saeed Ghani from the PPP told The Express Tribune that his party was of the opinion that the directions issued by the PM were “not enough and the minister should be removed.”
The MQM had appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari and the Election Commission of Pakistan for the dismissal of interim interior ministers. Wasay Jalil of the MQM said the minister should clarify his statement on the media, “and then we will see.”
Earlier in the day, the PM held a meeting with the interior minister and reminded the minister about the role of caretakers.
According to a statement issued by the PM House, Khosa while talking to the interior minister said that the mandate of the caretaker government was to ensure free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“It is, therefore, necessary that the caretaker government, its ministers and the government machinery not only conducts itself impartially but also be seen doing so,” the statement quoted the premier as saying.
During the meeting, the interior minister said the statement ascribed to him was made with good intensions.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2013.