- Says laws are impartial, not favouring any gender, and apply to all citizens equally
- Says though terrorism surges manifold, we knows how to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity
NEW YORK: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq on Saturday asserted that there is no ban on any political party from contesting elections and date for the general elections will be announced soon, asserting those behind the May 9 violence would face legal action.
“Neither the ECP has not banned any political party, nor imposing restrictions on any political group,” PM Kakar declared, highlighting that the election watchdog’s mandate is to conduct polls and the interim government’s role of supporting the electoral body.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq was speaking to Pakistan journalists during a press conference — following his speech at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session
On the occasion, the Caretaker Prime Minister firmly asserted that Pakistan is not accountable to any government or congressman.
“We are not accountable to any government; we are not accountable to any congressman — absolutely not!” PM Kakar said, further highlighting the robust bond between Pakistan and the US.
PM Kakar’s remarks came in response to a question posed by a journalist during — asking him about the engagements of Pakistanis in the United States with congressmen in relation to the human rights abuses and arrests in Pakistan.
He was also questioned about the recent arrests, particularly those of women, which came in the wake of the crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after its Chairman Imran Khan’s party members and supporters violently reacted to his arrest in May this year.
The prime minister said the country’s laws are impartial, not favouring any gender, and apply to all citizens equally.
PM Kakar also spoke about the resurgence of terrorist threats by dangerous entities such as Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan) and Daesh was a matter of grave concern for Pakistan and the entire international community.
“Pakistan is facing terrorism for the last two decades,” he said.
The premier stressed that a stable Afghanistan continued to remain an important foreign policy priority for Pakistan and the United States. Kakar said we are holding constructive dialogue with the interim Afghan government.
“We know how to defend and protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said, and also highlighted that Pakistan has always respected the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and we will continue doing so.
Questioning India’s handling of minorities and the human rights violations in its wake, the prime minister said: “We must counter all terror without discrimination, including the rising threat posed by far-right extremist and fascist groups such as Hindutva-inspired extremists, threatening genocide against Indian Muslims and Christians alike.”
The prime minister also lamented the large number of people killed in Manipur. He added New Delhi needed to oppose state terrorism and address the root causes of terrorism such as poverty, injustice and foreign occupation, and distinguish genuine freedom struggle from terrorism.
Regarding the brutal killing of a Sikh leader in Canada which came as a rude shock to the world, PM Kakar said that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-backed ideologues of Hindutva are becoming emboldened in a manner that they are now going beyond the region.
Speaking about his meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the UNGA, Kakar termed it a multilateral meeting that focused on a large number of bilateral and multilateral interests.
Commenting on the Jaranwala tragedy, the premier said the government took speedy action as a responsible state against the perpetrators of the tragic incident.
Commenting on the economic situation in the country, the prime minister said foreign investors are interested in investing in Pakistan because of the government’s new policies, highlighting that attracting foreign investments in all sectors was the interim set-up’s priority.
Kakar said the government believed in a no-holds-barred foreign investment regime and had constituted the Special Investment Facilitation Council to facilitate foreign investors, bolster their confidence and expedite project implementation in priority areas of agriculture, IT, energy and minerals and mining.
He added there is no shortage of essential commodities and we have stopped the hoarding of flour and sugar with an effective crackdown and policy measures.
‘Pakistan’s perspective on key global issues including Kashmir presented at UNGA’
The Caretaker PM said that he had projected Pakistan’s perspective on a range of regional and world issues including the Kashmir dispute during his address at the 78th UN General Assembly’s session.
In his interaction with the representatives of Pakistani media at the Pakistani Mission in New York, the PM said he informed the world about Pakistan’s perspective on Kashmir and Palestine issues, and Hindutva ideology being pursued by the Indian government.
He said his visit to New York remained highly successful, where he held useful meetings with the global leaders, including UN Secretary General António Guterres, and discussed regional and international issues.
The Prime Minister said that persecution of Muslims being carried out in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir was aptly described as “genocide” which he also mentioned in his address at the UNGA. He said thousands of Kashmiris had been killed and women were raped, besides the extrajudicial killing of the innocent Kashmiris.
Talking about the murder of the Khalistan Movement leader in Canada, the Prime Minister said that the gruesome incident has jolted the West and raised serious questions about the role of the Indian state. He said that Pakistan has been a victim of such state-sponsored terrorism and shared evidences of ‘Pakistan centric’ at different global and multilateral fora about the role of Indian state.
He said that it might be the first of its kind event probably after the First World War that an Asian country staged a physical murder on the European soil and its impacts are being witnessed across the western countries, who now have realized as to how India is persecuting its minorities like Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.
The prime minister maintained that an alliance should be formed to check such ‘rough behaviour’ of India.
