ISLAMABAD, Dec 12 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Tuesday said the caretaker government neither had the desire nor the intention to postpone the general election as the Election Commission of Pakistan possessed the powers to consider any such requests. The prime minister, in an interview with a private television channel (GNN) urged against politicizing the existential threat of terrorism in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and emphasized the need for a united approach.
He said in the given circumstances, mobilizing the people and holding election campaigns would be a challenge in such areas. He reiterated that the caretaker government was resolved to deliver the maximum humanly possible and conclude the polling day to culminate the task assigned to them. To a question, he said all political parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had the right to take part in the electoral process as excluding any registered party would raise questions about the fairness of the polls besides impacting the health of the state and society. Asked about the restrictions on public gatherings, the prime minister emphasized that there was no such policy to target any specific party.
On the concept of “minus one, in the political parties, he said it was due to the lack of institutionalization within their system and called for the need to form local leadership and evolve organically, reducing reliance on individual personalities. To a question, Prime Minister Kakar said he had always been forthcoming and accessible which developed his relations with the media. About the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the revocation of Article 370, he said the verdict would be judged by history as freedom was not just their right but the ultimate destiny of the Kashmiri people. He said Pakistan was committed to the Kashmir cause as the whole nation was unanimous on to support their Kashmiri brethren regardless of any political association. The prime minister said the establishment was playing a neutral role with no hardcore or actionable evidence of them managing political parties or any other intervention in politics. He said he had an excellent working relationship with the establishment and any clash was not in the benefit of the country. Asked to comment about the pre-poll predictions of Nawaz Sharif to be the next prime minister, he said all the political parties usually projected their candidates as the winning figures to attract voters.
It would be the voters to decide the next prime minister, he added. About the repatriation of illegal foreign nationals, he said the movement of people between two states should be regulated. The government is pretty much clear and will conclude the repatriation of illegal foreigners, he resolved. Asked about the PIA’s privatization, he said the process had attained maturity to a great extent and the government was committed to its privatization agenda. Coming to the reformative measures taken by his government, the prime minister said they had recovered around Rs 60 billion under the anti-power theft drive, improved tax receivables, cracked down on smuggling, and addressed the issues related to the Afghan Transit Trade which also improved the economic indicators.
To a query, he said he did not see any challenge in the continuation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council as it had statutory support. He said with the cooperation from the military, a lot of productive work had been done in the fields of agriculture, mining and information technology under the SIFC platform.
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