RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Saturday said the government was focusing on real issues like inflation and not worried about opposition parties, Pakistan Democratic Movement and elections.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the incumbent government was making all-out efforts to control inflation.
Ghulam Sarwar said the opposition parties were responsible for all the problems being faced by the citizens and the country, adding, they remained involved in looting and plundering of national exchequer during last 35 years. They could not dislodge the government by launching long marches, sit-ins and other moves. They would fail in their designs, he added.
To a question, he said the inflation and price hike which were being confronted by the citizens were results of the decisions made by the past regimes, but the incumbent government was making earnest efforts and taking solid steps to provide relief the people.
To another question, the minister said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been trying to weaken the institutions and confronting with each institution of Pakistan. The PTI government tried to strengthen the institutions of the country, he added.
Sarwar Khan said the legislation made in joint session of the parliament was earlier discussed in the cabinet meetings and approved by the cabinet. The allied parties were fully onboard. As many as 31 bills including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and I-Voting were passed in the joint session of the parliament, he added.
He said there was no election credible in the past as all the political parties of the country had been leveling allegations of rigging on each other after defeat.
Either, it was rigged by the candidate individually or rigged by presiding officers and other authorities. Every politician who loses election never accepted their defeat and leveled allegations on those who succeeded, Ghulam Sarwar said. PML-N and PPP had also been leveling allegations of rigging on each other in all the past elections, he added.
The electoral reforms package which was introduced by the government was need of the hour, he said adding, the government had offered the opposition parties to come and sit to give suggestions to finalize election reforms. The government was making all-out efforts to make the election process credible, free, fair and transparent. But, unfortunately, the opposition parties were using delaying tactics and trying to escape the process.
They were not ready to sit with the government for any constructive work, he added.
He further said that despite, majority of the opposition parties in the senate, the government succeeded to get passed four bills in the senate on Friday with majority as their several members were not present.
The issues of national importance were resolved and it was not only the success of the government and its allied parties rather, it was success of Pakistan as free, fair and transparent elections were need of the hour to strengthen democracy in the country, he added.
EVMs were needed to make the elections process credible, he said adding, the government was ready to talk on EVMs and I-Voting procedures to further improve the election systems.
A bill was get passed to give right to vote to nine million overseas Pakistanis who were asset of the country. They were contributing remittances of $ 30 billion in national economy. They were sending foreign exchange to the country which was more than overall exports of the country which were $ 28 billion currently.
Overseas Pakistanis were backbone of the country’s economy, he said adding, more than 70 percent overseas Pakistanis were affiliated with PTI and supporters of the party. It was included in the manifesto of the PTI that the overseas Pakistanis would be given right to vote.
He further said Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested during PML-N regime, but, his arrest was not discussed in the parliament due to the relations of the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
He said “Six adjournment motions on arrest of Kulbhushan were given by him. Several other adjournment motions were given by other members of the opposition parties at that time which were killed in the chamber of the then Naitonal Assembly Speaker.”
The minister said that Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested with solid evidence. He had also confessed to his crimes and his statements were on the record. Despite difficulties, military trial of Indian RAW agent was completed here in Pakistan. He was given death sentence while India approached the International Court of Justice.
The PML-N government should have not participated in that process. The International Court of Justice gave a judgment which was not against the sentence but the court ordered for giving right of appeal to Kulbhushan. It was a direction from the International Court of Justice, he added.
The PTI government made legislation in the best interest of Pakistan. The bill was passed to give him a right of appeal which would come to Islamabad High Court. It was a strong case and definitely, the RAW agent could not escape the death sentence, he added.
