ISLAMABAD: Dispelling the impression of a delay in elections, Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said on Friday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was performing its duty diligently to further electoral process in a responsible way.
The minister was talking to private television channels in two separate programmes on current affairs. He said the ECP had already announced that the election would be held by the end of January. “The Election Commission will announce final dates for the election and it is our responsibility to provide financial, administrative, and security assistance to the ECP for the purpose,” he said.
Solangi said the ECP was implementing its schedule and the political parties would be granted 54 days for conducting election campaign. He said the caretaker government, which had limited powers and tenure, was bound by the Constitution and law. The ECP was responsible for holding the elections in a transparent, free and fair manner and the government which was a constitutional one would provide all-out assistance in that regard.
To a query, he said the Law Ministry would consult the ECP on the petition seeking elections within 90 days and present its stance in the Supreme Court that had ultimate authority to decide on the matter.
Solangi said that constructive criticism was a hallmark of the democracy, saying each political party had its own stance. To another question, the info minister said that Nawaz Sharif was a senior politician and he was returning to his own country.
“No leader from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is in the cabinet,” Solangi clarified. The caretaker government had been performing its functions within the confines of the Constitution and the law, he said, adding it was its responsibility to complete the privatization process of those departments that were cleared by the previous government and the parliament. He said the current minister for privatization had an excellent administrative experience. “The state media is providing equal coverage to all political parties,” he said.
