PM for equal application of law to all

LAHORE: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Tuesday again voiced his concerns about the judicial system in the country, stressing the need for equal application of law.

In a lengthy interaction with the students of the Beaconhouse National University, Kakar said that there was a need to review behaviours, saying: “Today when I am [in power], everything is right, but when tomorrow you are [in power] nothing will seem right.”

When asked courts act promptly when it comes to removing a prime minister, but gang-rape cases face delay, Kakar said there are serious concerns about the judicial system. He said it’s hard to remain immune to injustice if serious attention is not paid to the judicial system. He reiterated that the State would not allow anyone to unleash violence and kill people in the name of political, ethnic and religious divides as it was its responsibility to ensure law and order.

The caretaker prime minister said that no one could be given a license to kill and eliminate others on the basis of political, ethnic and religious differences. “To maintain law and order is the responsibility of the State, and I assure you that such elements will never prevail in the State of Pakistan,” he asserted.

He said that the one who reverted to fighting with the State and the countrymen would get a befitting response. The government would not allow terrorists and militants to kill people with impunity as they had openly declared a war against the State and the civilians in the country. “We have accepted their challenge,” he said and expressed the resolve to fully respond to all threats with full force.

To another query, he said that the government functioned primarily on revenue generation system. The country had a tax collection of over Rs9,000 billion, but there was tax evasion of more than almost Rs10,000 billion. The lack of effective revenue system had been a persistent problem, which required effective steps to rectify.

He said that it was a consistent story with different past political set-ups and military dictators. For strengthening of economy, it was the first and foremost requirement to develop a robust tax system, he added, citing the Scandinavian countries with the highest tax revenue figures to their GDP.

The caretaker prime minister said that if the interim set-up in the country could achieve the tax target, then why not an elected government. If they were not able to achieve such, then there was a serious flaw in the governance system. He also underlined the need for an improvement in the structure of bureaucracy and the governance system.

About a question related to Gaza, the caretaker PM said Pakistan had used the forum of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other international fora and engaging with the European, United States and diplomats of other countries by reminding them that if such a senseless behaviour on part of Israel continued, it would radicalise about 1.4 billion Muslims across the world. He reiterated that Pakistan was continuously insisting that someone should stop the war and create a humanitarian corridor.

Responding to another question regarding the protest of Baloch families in Islamabad, he said holding protests and demonstrations within the limits of laws throughout the world was a basic right but when those parameters were violated, then laws were enforced by the governments. He said the use of a water cannon against the Baloch protestors was much criticised though he could cite about 200 incidents of its use in the European countries against protestors. The caretaker PM said that the law enforcement forces retaliated when they were pelted upon with stones. All the arrested people had been released subsequently, he added.

He further maintained that the women were agitating before the National Press Club, Islamabad, which was their right, adding they were giving media interviews and enjoyed freedom of expression. “What the government has done wrong! The government enforces law as it has to be enforced whether anyone likes it or not,” he added.

Kakar agreed to a student’s remarks that there were serious concerns over the judicial system in the country which required to be addressed. He also stressed the need for change in behaviour and equal application of laws to all.

In a veiled reference to the political history, he said that institutions were used and admired for personal benefits.

The interim PM said that in Pakistan, democracy was in the transitional phase as it was not a settled one. Non-democratic forces often took advantage of non-performance of the democratic system, he added.

He regretted that the principles of democracy were violated by those who did not consider them in their advantage, adding that certain issues required a thorough debate and advised the youth to be genuine and try to find out genuine solutions to the country’s issues.

The interim prime minister said that non-state actors and terrorists had been killing people in Balochistan. The State had the every right to respond to violence, he added.