Prime Minister directs the ministries to resolve all issues of the newspapers on priority
Khayam Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday dismissed the impression that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif returning to Pakistan under a deal with his government.
“The caretaker government has ‘no soft corner’ for PML-N or any other political party…How can a caretaker government strike such a deal,” he said in an interview with a digital media platform.
The prime minister was responding to a question relating to the PML-N supremo’s homecoming from the UK on October 21 after a four-year self-imposed exile.
Kakar pointed out that Nawaz had left the country because of a court decision “under the nose of Imran Khan’s government, and not the caretaker setup”.
However, he said that if Nawaz returns and takes part in politics, he will have to face some legal obstacles.
“The answers to these legal questions lie in legal remedies,” said the interim PM. He added that any leader be it Imran Khan, Asif Ali Zardari, or Nawaz, everyone would have to deal with the law.
The caretaker PM said that Pakistani politics had turned into “regimental camps” and the country had been turned into a fighting ground for political positions.
He also dismissed the notion that the caretaker setup could be compared to the “Kakar formula” where both then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan were forced to resign on a proposal of then army chief General (retd) Waheed Kakar to make way for elections.
“This comparison is apples and oranges. It is out of context because in our case, the stint of the normal parliament led to its retirement and we are part of the constitutional continuation where leaders of the House and the Opposition agreed upon my name,” said Kakar. There has been no interference from any institution in our case, he said.
Interim govt finalising arrangements for polls
On general polls, PM Kakar said necessary security and administrative arrangements were in place.
He said the caretaker government in collaboration with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was in the process of finalising required measures.
Country seeing reversal of dollar for first time
On Pakistan’s economic stability, PM Kakar said the country for the first time witnessed a reversal of the value of the dollar with a consistent descent of about Rs 40-45.
He said the continuation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SFIC) would lead to sustainability.
He dismissed the impression that the army had taken over the mining sector on the SFIC platform.
“The army’s role is a stop-gap arrangement to run the matters and at SFIC, it is providing impetus in the facilitation process,” he said.
‘Pakistan not recognising Israe’
Asked about any possibility of recognition of Israel, PM Kakar said, “There are no such deliberations going on.”
Pakistan considers Israel an “oppressor” and stands with the rights of Palestinians to their existence and return to their land, he said.
Earlier, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar directed the ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the finance ministry to resolve all issues of the newspapers on priority. Talking to a delegation of Council of Pakistan Newspapers’ Editors (CPNE) led by its president Irshad Arif here, the prime minister said the newspapers should play their role in promoting such an environment in which everybody should listen to the differences of opinions. He said currently an organized propaganda campaign was being launched against the state. He said during his visit to the US, an organized campaign of false news and undue criticism was launched against him. He said he accompanied a very short delegation during his visit to the US where he effectively presented the Pakistan’s case of climate change. The prime minister pointed out that he presented the cultural aspect of climate change to the world by referring to the holy Qur’an. With respect to smuggling of foreign currency, he said strict measures were being taken to stop smuggling of dollars in the short term. The rising value of the rupee against the dollar is a testament to the success of this campaign, he said adding that the Managing Director International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also appreciated the government’s measures to stop smuggling and illegal transaction of foreign currency. The prime minister said the smuggling of petroleum products also continued to cause serious damage to the country’s economy. Likewise, he said steps were being taken across the country to prevent power theft. He said Pakistan had billions of dollars of trade potential with Central Asian states. “I am trying my best to take such measures during the short period by which we can use out trade’s capacity.” Speaking about his upcoming visit to China, PM Kakar informed that Pakistan-China strategic relations, bilateral trade, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and tourism promotion would be discussed during the visit. Similarly, he said plans to take full advantage of the potential of tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan would also be part of the discussions. He said the government was making the process of privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) fast and transparent as privatization of loss-making public institutions would reduce the loss to the country’s exchequer.
