LAHORE, Sept 13: PML-QA president Mian Azhar sees no harm in giving the army a limited role in politics through the National Security Council.

Answering questions at a “Meet the Press” programme of the Lahore Press Club on Friday, he said the institution of army had its own importance in view of the wars it had fought against the enemy. The army, he said, could be given representation on the NSC but the council’s role should be advisory, with no power to overrule the cabinet or parliament.

Asked if he was in favour of continuing with the amendments made to the Constitution by the military regime, he said it was for the elected parliament to decide whether they should be retained or scrapped. He also left it to the new legislature to decide whether the condition of graduation for the assembly candidates should stay.

Mian Azhar said once an assembly was in place, it would be free to exercise its authority. For this purpose, he cited the example of the 1985 parliament which though elected on a non-party basis had refused to elect Khwaja Muhammad Safdar, the then government’s candidate for the office of NA speaker.

Parliament, he pledged, would run in a democratic manner and its status would not be reduced to a rubberstamp.

He said his party would give due importance to the opinion of the other parties having representation in parliament.

Mian Azhar claimed that workers had also been given tickets. He said he would soon be sending his party leaders to various districts to make those candidates to withdraw from the elections who were still in the field even after the party had refused to give them tickets.

In response to a question, the PML-QA president said the overthrow of an elected government three years ago was not a good step. But he hastened to add that what the so-called elected government was doing was still worse.

The then prime minister had aggrandized himself to the status of a monarch, undermining the Constitution.

Mian Azhar was also critical of the mega projects launched by the Sharif government, especially the motorway, which he said was nothing but a luxury for a country like Pakistan.

Asked whether the PML-QA would lend support to the action against the Jihadi forces, he said a decision on the subject would be taken keeping in sight the objective conditions. He said Islam was a religion of tolerance in which there was no room for extremism.

He said if voted to power, the PML government would try to give relief to the common man by bringing down utility bills. However, while doing so, the party would not take any step unacceptable to the IMF or the World Bank.