Caretaker govt to ensure free, fair elections: PM

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Friday reiterated the government’s resolve to ensure free, fair and transparent elections and said the caretaker setup would remain fully impartial.

Dispelling the impression that a certain political party was being favoured by the caretakers, he said the political parties normally tried to attract their voters in different ways and such allegations might be their tactics.

“We are fully focused on holding the elections in a free, fair and transparent manner and are fully supporting the Election Commission for the purpose,” he added.

In an interview with a private news channel (Suno News), Kakar also denied the impression that his cabinet member, Fawad Hassan Fawad, had affiliation with a certain political party.

“He is one of the best cabinet members and an able former bureaucrat. Due to his talent and abilities, he used to become a favorite choice of every ruling party during his service.”

He said Fawad was fully justifying his appointment as Minister for Privatization. The caretaker government would hopefully succeed in achieving the set target of privatization of state-owned enterprises due to his untiring efforts, the premier added.

As regards the recent depreciation of rupee against dollar, the prime minister said due to the government’s actions, the artificial demand for the dollar had significantly reduced and now the rupee value was being adjusted according to the actual demand and supply of the greenback.

He expressed satisfaction that the country’s economy had now almost become stable. Pakistan has also reached the staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he added.

“We have achieved our target of ‘economic health’ which was a very big challenge for the caretaker setup,” he remarked.

To a question, Kakar maintained that it was for the courts to decide about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The caretaker government would be bound to follow the court orders regarding the PTI chairman’s participation in the elections, he added.

To another question, he said the state would not, in any case, allow any group or party to resort to mob violence in the country.

With respect to the prevailing situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the prime minister said the recent emergency meeting of the OIC gave a unanimous strong message with collective wisdom to ensure ceasefire in Palestine that would hopefully be implemented soon.

He said Israel was committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza has rather become a humanitarian issue, as millions of people in Europe and rest of the world, belonging to different faiths and religions, are on the roads in protest.

As regards the relations between China and the United States, the prime minister said both the countries were economic powers and they had opted for the right choice of engaging with each other.

“Pakistan can neither remain in isolation nor choose any bloc. There are many countries like Pakistan which are closely related to China and have also good relations with the US.”

To a question about the repatriation of illegal Afghan immigrants, the prime minister clarified that there was no outside pressure in the matter.

“Afghanistan or Afghans are not our enemies, as we have centuries-old good brotherly relations,” he said. However, he also made it clear that both countries were two different states; therefore, the government was bound to follow certain rules and regulations regarding the Afghan nationals who had been residing in the country illegally.

He said the government had not banned the Afghan nationals from living in the country, but they would have to get them registered with proper legal documents.

Meanwhile, talking to a delegation of Gwadar Shipping and Clearing Agents Association, the caretaker prime minister said modernisation of fisheries in Gwadar was the government priority, as they were being trained to improve their working on a par with the international standards by utilising the modern machinery and boats equipped with engines and navigation systems.

He said the government would fully exploit the export potential of fisheries in Gwadar.

The delegation, including President of the Association Abdur Raheem Zafar, Secretary General Hameed Baloch, and Faisal Dashti, requested the prime minister to initially allow the import of a certain chunk of government’s cargos through the Gwadar Port before making it fully operational.

The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to present a comprehensive report in this regard.

The caretaker prime minister also appreciated the efforts of all government officials for recovering Rs46 billion under the anti-power theft drive.

In a post on X, he wrote that the Power Division and the Ministry of Energy through the 53-day anti-power theft campaign had recovered Rs46 billion.

“We appreciate the efforts of all those government officials who worked day and night for this national cause,” he remarked.