ISLAMABAD, July 18: The government will withdraw some of the proposed constitutional amendments in the light of suggestions made by politicians, experts and intellectuals, Information Minister Nisar Memon told reporters here on Thursday.

“With the passage of time President Pervez Musharraf himself feels that there is a need to withdraw various proposed constitutional amendments.”

The minister made it clear that while withdrawing certain proposals, principal amendments would not be touched and it would be ensured that the reform process was not compromised at any stage.

He said the purpose of presenting the amendment packages before the nation was to collect the feedback from people to reach certain consensus. “And I tell you that the president is not a rigid person and he is always open to suggestions,” he pointed out.

The minister said the information ministry would give its report to the government by July 30 on the basis of radio/TV debates, press reports and discussions held at various forums about the proposed amendments.

The report, he added, would be sent to the National Reconstruction Bureau and later to the cabinet and the National Security Council for its adoption.

The minister said that election preparations were in full swing as political parties had started holding public meetings.

He rejected the impression that political parties were not being allowed to hold public meetings. “Politicians are holding their meetings everywhere, including Nishtar Park, Minar-i-Pakistan, and Liaquat Bagh of Rawalpindi. Therefore, it is wrong to say that there is a ban on such activities.”

Nevertheless, he said, the government was not in favour of allowing rallies as it could cause security problems. “The political parties are even free to go to the state-run radio and television to give their points of view on various issues. The government’s agenda now is to complete the process of political reforms and hold elections in October this year.”

In reply to a question, Mr Memon said the cabinet would soon approve the establishment of a proposed press council, press and publication ordinance and deformation laws. He said there had been some delay due to the referendum and constitutional packages to deal with the issues concerning newspapers and their employees.

“But now everything has been finalized in consultation with the newspapers owners and newspapers organizations,” he said, adding that the opinion of the law ministry and interior ministry had also been taken to finalize the matter. He said he would be meeting the president on Saturday to brief him on the issue.

The minister said the government had extended an unprecedented freedom of press and added that the policy would continue.