LAHORE, Dec 21: The visiting European Union (EU) delegation has made it clear to the Pakistan government that if the forthcoming general elections are not held in a fair and transparent manner, the country stands a chance of impairing its relations with the EU.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the seven-member delegation of the European Parliament, led by British Parliament member Ms Nina Gill, said the general elections 2007 should be held in a transparent manner, with complete schedule being announced well in advance of six months, enabling the EU monitoring team to survey the pre-election and post-election procedures carefully.
She said that at a meeting with the chief election commissioner, the delegates had stressed on the approval of all the conditions and recommendations applied during the previous elections.
In reply to a question, the leader of the delegation said President General Pervez Musharraf had assured them of ‘keeping his promises’. No delegation member replied when asked why the EU had so far supported a president in uniform.
Regarding the core issue of Kashmir, the delegation said that the four-point agenda of President Musharraf was quite viable and had been responded to positively by India.
The delegation also briefed the press about their visit to the quake-affected areas and expressed grave concern over the plight of survivors despite the ongoing rehabilitation process. It noted that the people were compelled to spend a second consecutive severe winter in the camps.
The delegation said that it had also met President Musharraf and apprised him of the severity of their reservations, and he had promised to take all necessary steps for the welfare of the Kashmiris.
The delegation also expressed reservations about a large tranche of the donor aid that remained unutilised and stressed on speeding up the rehabilitation and restructuring process.
The EU trade committee is paying special attention towards Kashmir and is closely surveying all possibilities of carrying out trade with the region in order to ameliorate its development and welfare jeopardised by the last year’s quake.
The delegation members recommended educational reforms for being the top priority of Pakistani government. They expressed satisfaction over the religious education being imparted in seminaries, recommending supplementing it with contemporary subjects.
Replying to a question, the delegation members said that the final report about the recent trip of the delegation would be published in January 2007, which would include all the recommendations. They said that they had toured Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar and Lahore, and met all high-ranking officials and polity and discussed the potential challenges facing Pakistan, and the potential of Pakistan-EU relationship.
The delegation also visited Afghan refugee camps in the NWFP and recommended grant of nationality and rights as Pakistanis to the refugees. Special references were raised on tribal areas issues during their talks with President Musharraf. They hoped that their outdated regulations would be abolished and inducted into the national affairs mainstream.
The delegation also expressed satisfaction over Pakistan's trade relations with the EU, and said that the third generation trade accords with Pakistan would be encouraged. It also stressed on Pakistan's major role and effort to oversee the logical conclusion of Safta, and urged the government to take steps to encourage mutual trade, tourism and investment.-Online
