ISLAMABAD, Jul 16 (APP):Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Barrister Syed Ali Zafar on Monday said terrorists would not succeed in their nefarious designs and elections would be held on time in a fair and transparent manner.
In an interview to Pakistan Television, he said foreign, anti-state and some local forces were involved in the terrorist attacks primarily aimed to delay the elections.
He said the terrorists wanted to harm unity of Pakistan, target politicians and weaken democracy but they would not succeed.
He said terrorism had a history in Pakistan, adding all political forced made the National Action Plan and the country fought war on terror with unity.
As it was time for elections, electioneering could not be stopped, he noted.
The minister said all the relevant agencies made the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the political parties should be on board with the understanding that SOPs were for their security and not to stop anybody from taking part in the election process.
The minister said candidates should share information about public meetings with the administration.
The minister said all the concerns and complaints of politicians should be given weight, adding it was important that confidence building measures should be taken and candidates should be conveyed that measures were being taken for their security.
The minister said the law was clear that election commission, presently headed by a retired judge, had the full authority to hold fair and transparent elections. The Parliament strengthened the election law for ensuring transparency, he added.
He said if anybody had concerns about elections, he could write to the election commission about it.
Ali Zafar said the caretaker government had the mandate to run day to day affairs and hold fair and transparent elections.
“We cannot start projects and make expenditures but we can take steps of urgent nature.”
He said the government took up the matters of FATF and merger of FATA.
The government took steps for legislation and other administrative measures to facilitate the merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Ali Zafar said the caretaker government solved different problems and laid down guidelines for the next government which would have a roadmap to move ahead.
Ali Zafar, to a question said law and order was a provincial subject under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The federal government had no mandate to interfere in the affairs of the provincial governments, he said and added that the federal government could only provide them guidance.
The minister said he had a great desire to ensure access to information as under Article 19 A, every citizen had the right to access information and freedom of speech.
Soon after the caretaker setup was formed, in initial briefings, the state media was told that it was free to work, he said. ”Earlier, PEMRA was being controlled by the government, but it has been set free by the caretaker setup,” he added.
He said PEMRA could regulate private channels and the government had no authority over them. It was up to the private channels that to which party they give coverage or highlight what kind of issues.
The minister said Senate had set up a committee to probe the allegation by certain television channels about undisclosed censorship.
To a question, Ali Zafar said Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were entitled to all amenities as per jail manual and action would be taken if they were not given those facilities.
Regarding provision of medicines to Nawaz Sharif, the minister said he came to know about it through a letter written by Shehbaz Sharif. He said provision of medicines to Nawaz Sharif was his right and he was sure that he was getting the facility.
About the accountability process, the minister said the government had set up and empowered investigation and prosecution agencies as per law of the land.
Nobody would be allowed to interfere in the work of investigative or prosecuting agencies. Nawaz Sharif had the right to file appeal against his conviction, he added.
About the state of economy, the minister said market forces determined the dollar exchange rate. In past, dollar exchange rate was artificially controlled which had a negative impact on the economy, he added.
He said the finance minister was making guidelines to enhance exports and other economic indicators.
Regarding petroleum prices, the minister said, “Every month you have to adjust prices of petroleum as per international markets. There are taxes on petroleum products. Normally, the government reduces taxes to give relief to the people,” he added.
He said the interim government could only hold discussion with the IMF but could not enter into any long term programme.
To another question, the minister said water was a national issue, but unfortunately no past government paid any heed towards the grave issue.
He said Pakistan needed to build 17 dams to meet its water requirement, but it could build only two dams.
He said about 95 per cent water was being used for agriculture and old techniques were being adopted that led to wastage of water. “If we adopt drop for a crop method, we can save water,” he said.
He said other countries were spending 20 to 25 per cent resources on water conservation and reservoirs, however only 5 percent was used here, adding Pakistan needed to work on emergency basis to manage its water resources.
He said the government had acquired the services of Pakistani water experts to overcome the issue of water shortage and they would give their recommendations to be put before the cabinet by July 21 for implementation of the water policy.