LAHORE: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that free,
fair and transparent elections are always in the interest of the
Pakistan People’s Party, which has roots among masses in entire
country.
Talking to a delegation of local journalists at his
residence here on Sunday, he said, the PPP had always been advocating
for an independent election commission. All the political parties and
the parliament have full confidence in the present Election Commission.
To a question, he ruled out the possibility of holding any
mid-term election, saying when the provinces had in writing admitted
that environment was not conducive to hold even the bye-election. He
said that the PPP would convince the other parliamentary parties
including the PML(N) to hold local government election prior to the
next general election. The Election Commission, he added, had told him
that computerized voters list would be compiled by April 2012.
Gillani
said that PPP government is adhering to the politics of reconciliation
and now it is up to the MQM whether it would rejoin the treasury
benches or not. He said that all the parliamentarians are being
consulted on the mega projects, asserting the PPP has asked its
parliamentarians to execute five percent of their development funds
through party workers of their respective areas.
The PPP was
not only looking after the masses through various Federal Government
departments’ projects including gas, electricity and poverty
alleviation, but also benefiting from the expertise of their party men
in different sectors, he said.
To a question, the Prime
Minister said, “I have vast exposure to several governments,
parliaments and as Speaker of the National Assembly,” and added no
government ever gave attention to the opposition with regards to
release of developmental funds.
But the present government has
the credit of ensuring an equitable distribution of funds among all the
parliamentarians of the treasury and opposition, he said. “It will be
highly unfair to divide our country at government or parliament level,
as Pakistan is of all the Pakistanis,” he added.
To another
question, he said, Zulfiqar Mirza had been committed PPP leader and
that he would not resort for creating any new party. “I do appreciate
Mirza, who unlike others criticized the party, but after quitting all
the party offices and resigning as a Sindh minister,” he said.
Responding
to a query, he said that the Interior Minister Rehman Malik had sent a
fax to the Prime Minister’s office last night, urging for the
constitution of a judicial commission regarding the allegations leveled
against him by Zulfiqar Mirza.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza
Gilani said that he had complete confidence in the country’s armed
forces, Pakistan Rangers, police and all other law enforcement
agencies.
To a question he said that the Sindh Cabinet and law
enforcement agencies, at a briefing, had pointed out nine troubled
areas in Karachi and had suggested action there to maintain peace in
the port city.
Gilani added that he had directed them to take
action across the board in those areas without discrimination. “I am
confident the law enforcement agencies will not resort to any action,
which is not in the interest of Pakistan,” he said.
The Prime
Minister said that all the state institutions, armed forces and law
enforcement agencies are loyal to the country and working for security
and peace.
He said the government was taking effective steps
for rescue and relief of the flood-hit people in Sindh and Balochistan,
adding, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was also
coordinating with the respective governments and distributing meals and
tents to the affected people.
To a question, he said, “After
the last year’s devastating floods, we have enhanced the rescuers’
capacity, repaired the water courses, improved early flood warning
system and directed the NDMA to work at grassroots level by
coordinating at first with the district government, then provincial and
federal governments keeping in view the magnitude of the calamity.”
He
said no one can avert the natural calamities and this time the flood
intensity was very high, adding, flood damages increased because of the
construction of various structures on the water courses/drains in the
cities.
About power crisis, the Prime Minister said that a
committee comprising Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed
NaveedQamar, Federal Petroleum Minister Dr.Asim, State Bank’s Acting
Governor and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission would give
recommendations to the Federal Cabinet.
And the government, he
added, would also arrange an Energy Conference, to be participated by
all the chief ministers. Unlike the past practice of execution of power
generation projects only through the federal government, he said, now
the provincial governments, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
governments were also focusing on the electricity generation.
Power
crisis is not of today, as the country faced this problem back in 1993,
however, then Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had realised
gravity of the problem and initiated projects of Independent Power
Producers (IPPs), which were criticised strongly by some elements.
After the Benazir Bhutto’s government, cases were registered against
these IPPs and investors were sent to jails that largely discouraged
foreign investment in Pakistan, he said.
The Prime Minister observed that power situation would have been worse, if Benazir Bhutto had not initiated the IPPs.
Replying
to a reporter’s query, he said, the police and other investigation
agencies would soon manage to make a headway in the investigation for
early recovery of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of former slain Punjab
Governor Salman Taseer.
Latter PM went to the residence of late
Arsalan and met his parents. He appreciated his efforts that he donated
his liver. He announced to rename Liver Plantation Institute Lahore
after the name of Arsalan. On the occasion he said that it was his
dream to establish Liver Transplantation Institute in Pakistan, which
came true. Now second transplantation center would be set up at
Islamabad, he told. Online
