October 6, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 28, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: The Pakistan People’s Party has blasted the military regime for making far-reaching and fundamental changes only few days ahead of the general election leaving very little room for the future elected government to take its own policy decisions.

“When the elections are at hand, there is no justification of taking such policy decisions,” PPP acting secretary-general Mian Raza Rabbani told reporters here on Saturday.

It appeared that the government wanted to put the future ruling party in a very tight jacket, he said, challenging the right of what he called as “unelected” and “non-representative” regime to take such decisions.

Mr Rabbani counted at least seven major policy decisions, including the National Finance Commission Award, grant of autonomy to the State Bank, the labour policy and changes in education policy, which have recently been taken by the government.

The government had gone to the extent of imposing individuals on the future government, he said while referring to a statement of the finance minister saying that the IMF and the World Bank wanted that the economic team of the government should continue after the elections.

Regarding the NFC Award, he said that distribution of financial resources was too serious a issue to be settled by un-elected and non-representative people and bureaucrats. He suggested that such matters should be left to be settled by the future government with the political will and mandate of the people.

The PPP leader regretted that in the past, too, care-taker governments had singed agreements with the international donors, which had later created serious difficulties for the elected governments in implementing their economic policies.

He also condemned the police baton-charge on the teachers and students of the University of Karachi. He demanded that a high-level judicial commission be set up to conduct an inquiry into the incident and to bring responsible people to book.