LAHORE, July 26: Former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said on Monday that despite the fact that he had resigned as the head of government, he had just no differences with President Musharraf.
In an interview to a private TV channel, he said the president too had never said he had differences with him (Jamali). Asked if he had ever thought of refusing to resign, Mr Jamali said although some political thoughts did occur to him, he decided to honour his word. He was happy that he did not violate his commitment.
When suggested if the party was responsible for his resignation, he said: "God bless the party". He said now the party and the government were being run by the same man and he (Jamali) stood sidelined.
In response to a question, Mr Jamali said President Musharraf was a clean leader who wanted to do something for the country. He prayed for his success. Answering another question, he said as prime minister he worked within the limits set by the Constitution. He said perhaps it was for this reason that some people thought he was a weak leader and that his predecessors were right in their approach.
About his performance as prime minister, Mr Jamali said the coming times would be in better position to judge it. Or, he said, people were the best judges. He argued that rating his performance as poor would be premature at this juncture.
Questioned about the failure of democratic experiments every now and then, the former prime minister said a number of "parties" were responsible for it. " Politicians, bureaucracy, the establishment and in part even the people are responsible for the failure".
When the interviewer pointed out that relations between all presidents and prime ministers had never been cordial and invariably it was the head of the government who was made to leave the scene, Mr Jamali said under the constitution the prime minister could stay only till he enjoyed the confidence of the president.
He said though the head of state is the head of state, some times he must ignore (the shortcomings of) the prime minister. He did not agree with the remarks that the Prime Minister's House was a prison. Had it been so, nobody would have ever tried to reach there, he argued.
He said while in the Prime Minister's House, one had to be very watchful of the situation and events. In response to a question, he said he was the one who had said back in 1985 that Kalabagh dam should be constructed to meet the irrigation requirements of the country. But, he regretted, the gigantic project fell prey to political expediencies.
He said he still held the view that more reservoirs were needed by the country. He rejected allegations that politicians were corrupt. Mr Jamali said such allegations were levelled by those who were not in the field.
He was of the firm opinion that such people would change their opinion once they joined politics. Mr Jamali also dismissed as propaganda allegations that his sons were corrupt. The former prime minister said he owned about 7,000 acres of land from which he earned Rs5 to 6 million per annum.
