ISLAMABAD, June 6: President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that a rejoinder to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s affidavit would be submitted in the Supreme Court on Thursday and it would be based on facts.
Addressing a gathering of parliamentarians of the ruling coalition at Prime Minister’s House, the president reiterated to honour the verdict of the Supreme Court’s full bench or the Supreme Judicial Council.
According to sources, he asked the coalition partners to adopt a proactive approach, mobilise their resources and project and defend the government’s pragmatic policies; and refute the opposition’s propaganda.
Gen Musharraf said he would ensure that elections would be free and fair. He asked the coalition parties to prepare for the elections.
When a legislator pointed out that he had deviated from the seven-point agenda he had set in 1999, the president advised him to look forward, since it was 2007.
He asked the coalition partners to be vigilant against the divisive forces within their ranks as well as the external elements spreading mistrust among them.
He asked the legislators to ensure their maximum presence in the National Assembly and maintain quorum during the budget session, saying that it was crucial because it was an election year.
The president dismissed the opposition’s tirade against the government over the steps taken to ‘streamline the media coverage’. He said he had failed to understand what the ARY, Geo and Aaj television channels were trying to achieve by spreading ‘misleading’ reports.
He said the ordinance amending the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority rules was meant to ensure enforcement of the rules laid down in the law.
Gen Musharraf said the development process would move forward through continuity of policies and consistency of implementation.
The legislators invited by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on the eve of the National Assembly’s budget session listened to the president’s detailed speech but there was not much time for questions about the judicial crisis and the media issue.
Gen Musharraf said the government’s efforts were focussed on transferring the benefits of growth to the common man and the budget would be a step in that direction. He said the government was working to reduce poverty and increase employment opportunities. He said several steps had been taken to check inflation and provide essential commodities to people at affordable prices.
The president assured the parliamentarians that the country and the nation were secure and the defence of the country was impregnable. He said the real defence of the country lay in economic development and people’s prosperity, which were the primary focus of the government’s economic policies.
He said that elections would be held on schedule and the government would be remembered for holding timely, fair and transparent polls.
The president said he would take all decisions in the best national interest without fear and favour.
Prime Minister Aziz said the budget would meet people’s aspirations and have a positive impact on all sectors of the economy and segments of the society, including wage earners, farmers and traders. He said a record Public Sector Development Programme would create economic opportunities and jobs. Poverty would decline and there would be visible improvement in the quality of life of common man with better facilities of health and education.
He said the country had achieved record economic growth during the past seven years and now the government was transferring the benefits of growth to the people at the grass-root level.
The meeting, which was followed by lunch, was attended by 150 MNAs, ministers and a select group of senators belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League and allied parties.
Earlier, the president and the prime minister held a one-to-one meeting and discussed the current issues.
