February 10, 2008	Sunday	Safar 02, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: Opposition Leader in the Senate and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart Raza Rabbani has accused the caretaker government of violating the Constitution and overextending its mandate by appointing judges of the superior courts.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, the PPP leader said under the Constitution, the function of a caretaker government was only to run day-to-day business of the state and to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding free, fair and transparent elections.

Mr Rabbani said: “It is not within the ambit of the caretaker government to appoint judges of the superior courts.”

This should be left to the elected government which will take office after February 18 election, he said.

Similarly, he said, the caretaker government continued to approve long-term economic projects and take decisions on economic policies which again was not within its domain.

“All such projects approved and policy decision taken by the caretaker government will be open for review by the elected government and parliament. The elected government and parliament can scrap any such project or policy,” he added.

Mr Rabbani also condemned the statement of the caretaker finance minister in which he stated that the elected government would have to increase petroleum prices. He said it appeared that the finance ministry was a part of a conspiracy to discredit the newly-elected government by deliberately following nullified economic policies.

Meanwhile, Mr Rabbani, who is also the deputy secretary general of the PPP, addressed a public meeting at Jhandaywali Village Gulyana near Lala Musa on Saturday morning.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Rabbani said Benazir Bhutto was the linchpin of the federation. He said her assassination was carried out by those forces which wanted to change the geographical boundaries of Pakistan. He said the people of Pakistan would defend the federation as this was Ms Bhuttto’s mission. He further said the people of Pakistan would take revenge of the ‘Shahadat of Benazir Bhutto’ on February 18 through the ballot. He predicted that the PPP would sweep the election and put the country back on the road to democracy.

Mr Rabbani criticised the PML-Q and said this party had given the country the atta crisis, sugar crisis and above all energy crisis. He said the PPP would restore the pre-November 3 judiciary when it came into power.

The PPP candidates for national and provincial assemblies seats also addressed the rally.