Govt to fulfil constitutional duty of holding polls: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the federal government was committed to fulfilling its constitutional obligation of holding an election and would act as per the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“No one should have a doubt on us regarding evading the elections. We will whole-heartedly participate in the election and will follow whatever is decided by ECP,” he told a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) here at the PM House.

Shehbaz Sharif said it was up to the ECP to decide on the matter, however, as president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), he had directed his party to finalize the names of ticket-holders. He said the government was cognizant of the fact that timely elections led to a stronger State and its progress.

In the same context, he mentioned that the government had initiated work on the census and the funds had been released despite financial constraints.

The prime minister said the country was passing through political and economic challenges, however, said that all political parties of the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) coalition contributed positively towards improvement in the situation.

Shehbaz Sharif recalled that friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and China extended support to Pakistan in trying times. To control inflation, he said the government was committed to ensuring austerity and providing relief to the poor, especially during Ramazan.

The prime minister pointed out the “naked defiance” of former prime minister Imran Khan and making fun of the state institutions by his no-show in courts. “First time in Pakistan, a so-called political person is considering himself above law. Non-appearance in courts is tantamount to violation of law,” he said.

He recalled that Imran Khan used to hit politicians with unlawful tactics and was now trying to defy the rule of law. He mentioned that PML-N leaders including himself, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah were dragged in fake cases by the previous government, but still appeared before the courts. Also, senior journalists including Absar Alam and Matiullah Jan were manhandled during Imran Khan’s tenure. “The government is not taking action on its own, but on the court order,” he said in reference to yesterday’s movement of police with regard to Imran Khan’s arrest warrants.

In Toshakhana's case, he said Imran Khan who called himself an ‘honest person’ was in fact a liar, who even sold a wristwatch with the model of the Holy Kaaba. He mentioned the change of Toshakhana policy by his cabinet wherein only gifts up to $300 could be retained on payment of the requisite amount.

The prime minister termed CPNE an important link between the government and the masses. He apprised the news editors of the effective steps taken by the government in areas of the economy. Asked if the government was ready to hold talks with Imran Khan, he said though the politicians always resorted to dialogue, however, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had a history of not responding positively in this regard. He said the PTI even did not join the apex committee meeting chaired by him in Peshawar on the recent mosque blast.

The meeting held an in-depth discussion on the overall situation in the country in areas of politics, economy, foreign affairs and security.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the threat of Pakistan defaulting on its debts was “now over” and that a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would happen “soon”.

The premier said his government had successfully managed to save the country from default, reported local media. He said all the efforts were being made to pull out the country from an economic slump.

“It has been 11 months since the coalition government took over and economically, Pakistan has moved past the fear of default but the agreements that were made with the IMF will affect citizens for some time to come,” PM Shehbaz said. He accused the previous government of knowingly abandoning the agreements it made with the IMF. “The previous government realised in January 2022 that the opposition had a viable and constitutional plan to remove [then-PM] Imran, so they went on to violate the terms agreed upon with the IMF,” he said.

The premier insisted that he had inherited an economy in shambles and that it was a difficult task for him to push it into recovery, particularly because his government had to honour agreements made by the previous PTI government.

An agreement with the IMF would release $1.1 billion, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations as it would also unlock inflows from friendly countries.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is in a race against time to implement measures to reach an agreement with the IMF on the completion of the ninth review of a $7bn loan programme — which has been delayed since late last year over a policy framework.

He also said that no party could run away from elections and cleared the air regarding a perception that the PMLN was shying away from going to polls. “We will go for elections according to the guidelines set by the Election Commission,” PM Shehbaz said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed the country’s resolve to support global efforts to end Islamophobia across the world.

“Pakistan joins the world community in seeking an end to all forms of hatred, profiling and discrimination against Muslims on the basis of faith,” he said in a tweet on International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

Shehbaz Sharif said Islam, like other religions, stands all for tolerance, respect, peace and human development.