ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Concurring with the suggestion that the floor-crossing law was a good law, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, however, maintained that at times you have to ‘close your eyes’ to such things to help the new and younger parliamentarians find their feet in the democratic setup.
The prime minister was answering questions at his first meeting with the newspaper editors and senior columnists at the PM House on Tuesday.
When asked about reports that some of his cabinet ministers were still being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau and that three of them were still on the Exit Control List, the prime minister, without refuting the allegation, said that no one was above the law and that he would look into the matter and try to find out the actual situation.
On being asked about the alleged deal between the government and the MMA under which two former provincial ministers — both belonging to JUI and undergoing imprisonment in embezzlement cases — were released in return for the MMA’s support for the government formation in Balochistan, the prime minister, again without refuting the allegation, said the two were released on parole.
“Anybody can be released on parole at the discretion of the government after he has completed a certain period of his incarceration,” he added.
The prime minister reiterated that he would like the party which had the largest number of votes in Sindh to form the government but added that if for some reason it failed to do so, then the government would have to intervene and try to form a government in that province in order to save the elected House from collapsing.
He said there were differences within the PPP itself as, according to him, three persons — Qaim Ali Shah, Nisar Khuhro and Amin Fahim’s son — were vying for the chief minister’s slot. “Let them decide whom they want to support first and then if they need any help after that we will certainly consider.”
In his opening remarks, the prime minister asked the media for guidance and lead: “It is not my government, it is our government and it is the government of the entire nation”.
Referring to his one-vote majority in the House, he said if a British prime minister can last for four years with just one vote why can’t he complete his tenure with a similar majority.
Mr Jamali said he welcomed criticism and expected friends to give him timely advice, but hoped that his well-wishers would avoid harsh words while criticizing him.
On the issue of continuity, he said continuity was the name of the game. “There would be no change in the ongoing policies, but there could be some amendments here and there to adjust to the new situations.”
He thanked the President for reposing confidence in him and his elected colleagues, and transferring power to the elected government without any reservations.
He reiterated his resolve to keep Pakistan first all the time in his approach to policy making and its implementation.
He said the cabinet, which had met earlier in the day for the first time after the government formation, had decided to reduce the power tariff by 12 paisa per unit across the board and promised to take more such steps in the months ahead to alleviate the sufferings of the poor.
Discussing the impact of the devolution policy on the elected parliamentarians, he said these parliamentarians would also be allowed access to some reserve funds for use at their discretion for development purposes.
Asked when he was going to address the nation on television and radio, the prime minister said he would address the nation when he would have something concrete to tell it.
He said it was not possible to eliminate corruption completely but maintained that it could be minimized by setting personal examples and discouraging people who wanted things to be done illegally or who indulged in nepotism.
When referred to the apprehensions of some that he would also go the same way as that of the late Mohammed Khan Junejo, the prime minister said as long as he worked within his constitutional parameters he did not think he would go the same way.
But when asked what he would do if the other person crossed his constitutional parameters, the prime minister said as nobody could predict with any degree of certainty what would happen the next moment, it was futile to indulge in such meaningless speculations.
Most of the time during the question-answer session, the prime minister resorted to parable, phrases and jokes to sidestep questions that he did not want to answer.
APP ADDS: The prime minister stressed the need for the Press to play its watchdog role, stating that his government believed in the freedom of Press.
He referred to the slogan of ‘the Press and the nations rise and fall together’, and urged the journalists to guide the government wherever it went wrong.
In reply to a question about the president-PM relations, he said: “These are cordial, ideal and excellent...and will continue to remain so.”
About the postponement of the Saarc summit in Islamabad, the prime minister said it was regrettable since arrangements for its holding were under way.
“But, it was due to the adamant stance of the Indian leadership which resulted in its postponement,” the prime minister said.
He said he would visit the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation in a day or two, adding: “It (the KESC) needs good governance, which we will provide.”
