Gilani hints at general elections after budget
30 January, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday hinted at holding the general elections any time after the presentation of the federal budget.
Talking to reporters at the Prime Minister's House, he said that timing for the new elections would be worked out with opposition parties and allies as and when required.
Gilani said the government would talk to the opposition for building a consensus on the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
On a statement by opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan that the opposition would not talk to the government on the proposed bill, Gilani said that he was giving statements according to his role.
Gilani said that the new constitutional amendment would provide legal cover to the actions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a certain period after the passage of 18th Amendment.
"In politics, no walls are built but bridges are made," he said while stressing the need for dialogue between the government and opposition on all issues.
The prime minister said, "We want free, fair and transparent elections, and that the smooth transition of government would set a tradition for future."
He said President Asif Ali Zardari would address parliament according to schedule. "He will become the first president who will be addressing the joint sitting of parliament for the fifth time," he added. The prime minister pointed out that last year the government had said that the next budget could be presented in May so that legislators get more time to discuss the issues of their constituencies.
He said that the government had made history by adopting an independent course in foreign policy.
"We protected national interests in letter and spirit," he said, adding that now the people and parliament would decide about the relations with the United States.
He remarked that other political leaders were way behind the government, as they wanted to stop NATO's supply lines through musical concerts. "The government took concrete actions and stopped the NATO supplies, got the Shamsi airbase vacated and refused to participate in the Bonn conference," he added.
Replying to a question, he said Punjab was not agreeing to the formation of a new Drug Regulatory Authority while the other three provinces had given their consent to it.
"I am deeply saddened over the loss of lives in Punjab and did not want to criticise the provincial government as he is the chief executive and face of the Pakistan government abroad," Gilani added.
Over the petroleum prices issue, the prime minister said that he had taken notice of the matters of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and added the petroleum minister should not have given a statement on increase in prices of oil as it was the domain of OGRA. He directed the cabinet division secretary to ensure transparent appointment of an OGRA chairman.
During interactions at Davos, many business leaders from multi-national companies shared their experiences about their investments in Pakistan, which were returning profits, he said. Gilani said the matter of Khurram Rasool was brought to his knowledge by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and he took action and referred the matter to the interior minister for investigations.
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