Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Syed Samam Bokhari has said President Asif Zardari and PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif want the present government to complete its constitutional term.
The minister for state said the PML-N chief and the president do not want any instability. He further made it clear that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto returned to the country not through the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) but on the basis of popular public opinion.
The minister for state said to find a solution to the unrest in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) a parliamentary committee has been formed.
Syed Samam Bokhari said the resolution passed by the National Assembly against the US airstrikes inside the Pakistani territory was of immense significance, adding that the US should stop violation of Pakistani airspace.
While responding to a question about the recent currency scandal, the minister of state said investigations were underway and those playing with the future of the nation would not be forgiven.
Syed Samam Bokhari said the welfare of the journalists and securing their integrity was government’s foremost priority.
While talking to Weekly Pulse, he maintained that we are democratic people and believe in democracy. The minister for state said if political parties had any reservations about the 17th amendment and Article 58-2(b) than they could bring it to the parliament.
Syed Samam Bokhari said President Asif Ali Zardari too had said that only that decision would be accepted that would be approved by all political parties in the parliament.
Regarding the continuous violation of Pakistani airspace by the US drones, he said not a single honourable Pakistani could tolerate US attacks in Fata.
The minister of state further said the agreements that the former president Musharraf entered into with the US badly damaged Pakistan’s integrity. He said we would never involve ourselves in the killing of innocent people but instead of getting scared of the militants we would try to strengthen the writ of the government. He said the government believed in the process of dialogue and talks. He further said on the orders of the president and the prime minister the speaker had constituted a parliamentary committee for solving the problems in Fata that comprised 17 members.
The state minister said the committee would present its recommendations in a month’s time. He further underlined that the president and the prime minister understood that problems were not solved through the barrel of a gun and that stability in the country was only possible through a process of dialogue.
The minister of state said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) welcomed the resolution unanimously passed by the parliament. He expressed his hope that the president and prime minister would solve the problem with the help of their political insight.
The minister of state said the government had restored the judges according to the Murree declaration, adding that Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had become controversial.
He said Justice Iftikhar had become a political figure, and the way he was demonstrating against the government it did not suit a judge of a civilised country.
The minister of state for information and broadcasting said they wanted to strengthen the institutions and not Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
He said they wanted to go beyond individuals and wished to strengthen institutions, adding that Makhdoom Amin Fahim was the right hand man of President Asif Ali Zardari.
To a question, the minister categorically said there were no groupings within the Pakistan People’s Party and every body was united under the leadership of President Zardari to save the country.
He said the government of Pakistan had raised the issue of US airstrikes inside Pakistan all over the world, adding that the US ambassador to Pakistan was called to the Foreign Office on the issue and strong protest was registered.
Responding to a question he said nobody involved in the currency scandal would be absolved of his crime. The minister vowed to root out white collar crime from the city.
He said the government was trying to make the system of check and balance more effective.
He said no doubt the court of law was the right forum for the accountability of the parliament.
He said if we would serve the people they will re-elect us. The minister said if the parliament was destabilised once again then we would be left with no reason to stop the march of military (towards the corridors of power).
Regarding the longstanding Kashmir dispute, he said the Kashmiris should be allowed their right to self-determination. He said peace in South Asia was linked to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute.