Cantt, LG polls’ victory pattern proves fairness of election-2013: Pervaiz Rashid

LAHORE, Nov 01 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and
Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid has said
the similar pattern of election results for the PML-N in Cantonment elections, by-elections and the LG polls, has established the fact
beyond any doubt that General Elections-2013 were the fairest and
most transparent in country’s democratic history.
Responding to the mediamen at a seminar on “Role of Media in
implementation of Urdu” at Aiwan-e-Iqbal here on Sunday, he said
PTI leadership must know what the masses want and parliamentarians
should legislate to improve the electoral system rather than taking
to the roads and launching barrage of criticism against the government
for self-projection and self-conceited good for the masses and the
country.
To a query, the information minister said PTI leadership will
have to decide whether the nucleus of its politics would be the
efforts for making the democratic system a success, eliminating
terrorism from the country, overcoming energy-crisis and to
accelerate efforts to improve good-governance in the country as
it was the manifesto of the PML-N government or otherwise.
He said PTI’s efforts should be focused on the elimination
of terrorism from the country and the betterment of economic
activity.
In response to a question, he said it was satisfying that
the people exercised their right to vote in a peaceful atmosphere
in Punjab while the same electoral process in the KPK had presented
a different scene as was depicted by the eye of the camera, adding
that a sitting provincial minister in KPK was seen transporting the ballot-boxes in his car, another stole the ballot boxes on gun-point
while Mian Iftikhar Hussain of ANP was implicated in a false firing
case during the KPK LG polls.
He said so controversial were the KPK LG polls that the
PTI Chairman Imran Khan even talked of re-poll in the KPK.
About the boons of LG polls for democratic system, Pervaiz
Rashid said local bodies government was a means of empowering the
masses at their door-steps, adding before the LG polls in Punjab,
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was serving the masses but
now his associates would be present in every nook and corner of
the province to resolve their problems.
The minister said CM Shahbaz Sharif had ensured supremacy
of law and order in the province and had always adopted
zero-tolerance policy against his closest aides if found erring.
About any rifts at lower level in the party, he said the
ballot had resolved all kinds of differences among political
factions of PML-N in LG polls in Faisalabad and the party had
accepted it.
“Political parties pass through election process within
parties all over the world and one group wins and the other
loses and that settles the matter”, he added.
To another query, the Minister said the local government
representatives will get all their rights and powers once they
sit in the corporations.
Earlier, addressing the participants of the seminar on
“Role of media in the implementation of Urdu as official
language”, he said the government would adopt all measures to
ensure the implementation of the apex court’s orders of
implementation of Urdu as official language, adding that it
was due to the democracy that all institutions were free today
in the country and people had the right to protest for their
demands.
Pervaiz extolled democracy which had empowered all with
the right to free speech, adding that such freedoms were
unknown during the dictatorial regimes. He said political
parties, civil society, bar councils, media and the judges had
rendered invaluable sacrifices to win freedom.
Differentiating between democracy and dictatorship, the
minister said democracy empowers all institutions like
judiciary to correct and direct while dictatorship sows the
seeds of suicide jackets and terrorism in societies.
Pervaiz Rashid reminded the audience of the people like
him who had borne the brunt of the four dictatorial regimes
so that the people could have the right to free speech and
democracy. He said it was Prime Minister Muhmmad Nawaz Sharif
who led the march for the independence of judiciary despite
all threats and made the freedom of judiciary possible.
The Information Minister said that rights of the regional
languages would also be recognized. He said Urdu is accessible
to all citizens in the country but the media must have
knowledge of the other languages as it must convey Pakistan’s
voice to the other countries as well.
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique,
former MNA Raheela Qazi, PILAC Director DR Sughra Sadaf,
intellectuals and representatives of the civil society
attended the seminar.