October 19, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 25, 1427

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LAHORE, Oct 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz let out a vital glimpse of the 2007 general elections on Wednesday, declaring that the ruling PML and its coalition partners would jointly take on the opposition parties and win the polls on the basis of what he called remarkable performance of the government.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, which is a coalition partner of the PML in Balochistan, was not among the allies he identified while replying to a question at an Iftar-dinner hosted by Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani.

The continuity of policies during the past seven years had brought very positive results and adhering to the same in the future along with the parties united under President Musharraf would better serve the country’s interest, the prime minister said.

“We’ll take the government into the next term through the electoral process. We believe that on the basis of our splendid performance the voters would re-elect us”.

That Mr Aziz would not be the prime minister at the time of the polls became clear when he announced that he would contest the election to a National Assembly seat.

Under the Constitution, a man who is part of the caretaker setup cannot take part in the polls.

Mr Aziz said it was for the party to decide who would be its candidate for the prime minister after the next elections.

Without naming anyone but leaving no doubt that he was targeting the opposition parties, the prime minister said people knew well who was serving them and who was working on his/her personal agenda. “Progress made during the present rule has no precedent in the past”, said Mr Aziz in an attempt to persuade the common man why he should stand by the coalition in power.

Answering a question about Balochistan, the premier said although some legislators had resigned their seats, their number was negligible. He said the government was willing to talk to any party, but without compromising on its principles.

When asked if the government would take Baloch nationalists along in case the MMA carried out its threat of quitting the Balochistan coalition, he said: “We’ll not take any step which weakens the federation”.

According to him, the situation in the country’s largest province was fast returning to normal. He believed that the mega and micro projects being launched there would provide jobs to the unemployed and banish backwardness. “Nobody can stop or reverse the development process in Balochistan”.

Reiterating his commitment to greater provincial autonomy, the prime minister said he wanted to give more resources to the federating units to enable them to improve people’s lot.

Mr Aziz credited his government for bringing an end to what he called political polarisation. In the past, he regretted, there was serious confrontation between the government and the opposition and at times the two sides were not even on speaking terms. But the present government was introducing a new political paradigm, as a result of which the government-opposition ties had already made a marked improvement. “Our doors for talks are always open. We remain in contact with all parties represented in parliament. The opposition is very active and its leaders keep expressing their points of view on various issues”.

Referring to the exiled leaders, the prime minister said: “If some people are out of the country, you are well aware of the reasons. System is always above individuals”, said Mr Aziz, implying that the government gave them little importance.

To a question, the prime minister said resolution of Kashmir dispute was imperative for a lasting peace in the region. He said Pakistan, India and Kashmiri people were stakeholders to this 60-year old dispute and flexibility in their stated positions could help settle it.

He made it clear that Pakistan was consistent in its stand on the Kashmir issue.

Mr Durrani said there was complete harmony among the president, the prime minister, the ruling party and the parliament because of which nobody was in a position to destabilise the system.

Governor Khalid Maqbool, provincial ministers Raja Basharat, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, Arshad Lodhi, Qudsia Lodhi, Nasim Lodhi and Aleem Khan were also present at the Iftar-dinner.