Caretaker PM Kakar foresees general elections prior to February
ISLAMABAD (APP) - Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday said that general elections in the country might be held ahead of February next year, but the Election Commission of Pakistan was the relevant forum to take a decision in this regard.
In an interview with a private TV channel, the prime minister said that the ECP was mandated to take a decision in this regard and the caretaker government would fulfill its constitutional obligation by extending all possible support to the ECP for holding of elections.
To a question, the prime minister said that the Supreme Court was an apex body and if it announced any decision over the polls matter, it would be binding upon the interim government to implement its verdict in letter and spirit.
“Let me assure, all the voters across the country, that they can chose the leadership of their choice with the power of their votes and there will be no institutional interference,” the prime minister asserted.
Prime Minister Kakar further elaborated that they would ensure a level playing field to all political parties who would have the freedom of expression and holding of processions.
He said that he himself would keenly observe the parties and would vote for the one that could give a suitable economic revival agenda. To a question, the caretaker prime minister said that the interim government was working under a synchronized manner. "The government and other institutions, including the military leadership, are working together for the achievement of the economic objectives," he added.
PM Kakar emphatically said that it was the domain of the political parties to forge an economic charter and take the issue to the public and made it clear that the caretaker set up could not give such an agenda. "It should be an indigenous programme of all the political parties who should opt to hold consultations among themselves and it was not the responsibility of the interim government," he reiterated.
With regard to the electricity issues, the prime minister said that it was unjustified that those power consumers who had been contributing with payment of their bills were burdened at the cost of the power thieves. He said that the interim government could not resolve the power issues in the short period, which included theft, losses, DISCOS privatization and stressed upon a mid-term plan to address these.
The prime minister said that privatization of DISCOS was being commenced as the private sector had to run the business activities, adding that the caretaker government had given a plan for implementation.
He also expressed the confidence that his government would achieve something in this regard by the end of its tenure. To another query, he maintained that during their discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there was no opposition to targeted subsidy to the poor power consumers.
The prime minister further said that they were holding negotiations with the provinces over the markets closures timings for energy conservation and emphasised upon reversal of attitude in this regard. The prime minister said that the country could attract US$25 to 50 million investment in diverse sectors in the next few years, as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had expressed their interests in various ventures.
