04 August 2004	Wednesday	17 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

LAHORE, Aug 3: The only amendment to defamation laws is the increase in jail term for making false accusations, says Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Husain. He was talking to journalists here after inaugurating a private television channel at a local hotel.

Chaudhry Shujaat expressed willingness to repeal that amendment, too, if the media people so suggested and said that there would be no change in the press-related clauses of the defamation laws. "Many people are criticizing it without even going through it."

The prime minister said that the proposed amendment to defamation laws was meant only to prevent false accusations and mud-slinging. According to him, a code of conduct was needed to ensure that nothing against the national interest was aired or printed.

On the issue of sending troops to Iraq, Chaudhry Shujaat said that neither he nor Gen Pervez Musharraf had ever thought of taking any unpopular decision on the issue. About Saudi Arabia's proposal for establishing a Muslim force for Iraq, he said it was being discussed in many Muslim states but no concrete outcome had so far been achieved.

Moreover, he said, problems being faced by the Iraqis would have to be kept in mind before taking such a decision. Commenting on terrorist incidents, the prime minister said that the frequency of such incidents had increased but it was not clear as to who was behind it.

The prime minister denied reports about any army operation being conducted in Balochistan and declined to link the alleged attack on the Balochistan chief minister with it and said solutions to Wana and Balochistan issues would be found through dialogue.

Chaudhry Shujaat said the army operation in Wana was aimed at a specific target. He did not elaborate about the target. He denied reports suggesting that the government had sought cooperation of the opposition in tackling the terrorism problem.

Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool and Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed were also present on the occasion.