Zardari should keep party in his own hands: PM

Says wants to maintain cordial relations with PPP; pleased over Asif’s return to Pakistan; will consider making Abbottabad Commission report public; regulatory bodies were regulating govt

SARAJEVO: While welcoming the return of the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that he should take the affairs of his party in his own hands.

"I am pleased to hear that Asif Zardari is returning to Pakistan," the prime minister said while talking to media persons accompanying him to the trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The prime minister stressed that he has been a vocal proponent of politics of tolerance and after assuming office he went to meet Asif Zardari, who was later given proper farewell by the PML-N government. The prime minister said he wants to maintain cordial relations with the PPP, since it is vital for the country's prosperity that political parties maintain good relations. He said the PML-N signed the Charter of Democracy with the PPP. However, the NRO was a big blow to the spirit displayed at that time. Then PPP again damaged this spirit by overthrowing the Punjab government. Even at that time, when popular opinion was that the PML-N should resign from parliament, the prime minister said that he rejected such pressures by clearly declaring that the people have not elected their representatives only for them to end up resigning from the job.

Responding to a question regarding the Abbottabad Commission report, the PM offered a rather intriguing answer, saying that he would look into the proposal of making the report public upon returning home. He stated that as a matter of principle, if a commission is formed, its report should also be made public.

While responding to a question regarding fulfillment of the PML N's election manifesto, Nawaz said that "we are introducing reforms on both foreign and internal fronts. The incumbent government's performance has been far better compared to its predecessors who either lacked the ability or didn't even have any agenda for taking the country forward." In the pre-Musharraf era, he said Pakistan had good bilateral relations with many countries, and India and Pakistan received equal treatment from the international community. However, he said due to the policies of last two regimes, pressures on Pakistan have increased and the gap has considerably widened.

Commenting on his Bosnia visit, the PM said relations between the two countries should not always be dictated by economic interests.

Nawaz said the relationship between Bosnia and Pakistan goes far beyond economic interests. “During the Bosnia war, I was the prime minister of Pakistan, we extended full support to the suppressed Muslims of the Baltic country. People and the leadership of Bosnia still remember that today. I enjoyed very cordial relationship with Alija Izzatbeigovich, the president of Bosnia, during that period. I even came here to meet him as opposition leader during the war. His son Baqir Izzatbeigovich, who is currently a member of the presidency, also shares his father's feelings towards Pakistan.”

While responding to a question regarding preparations for the next elections, he said, “People advise me that if we are able to solve the electricity crisis, we will secure the next elections, however, I think it's not enough. We have to do much more work in all sectors of the economy to take the country forward. We are determined to do that.”

The prime minister candidly admitted that 2016 was a tough year, but also expressed hope for 2017. "2016 could have been even better since it has passed, no remorse,” he said. He maintained that the media has a critical role in shaping the future of the country, adding that inaccurate and hyped up discussions on the media have a depressing effect on Pakistanis. “We should learn to be a responsible nation, we won't stay in the government forever, therefore, it is necessary to keep the best interests of the country in mind while expressing opinions in media,” he added.

Responding to a question regarding transparency in giving the control of regulatory bodies to respective ministries, the PM said the basic purpose of these bodies was to regulate the private sector, however, they were regulating the government. Due to these bureaucratic hurdles, a lot of development projects were put into jeopardy, therefore, to keep these projects on track such a measure was inevitable. He claimed that the present government has saved over Rs100 billion of taxpayers' money by negotiating a lower tariff, even lower than Nepra's approved tariff, in various power projects. He also expressed the hope that despite nine months being wasted due to the 2014 sit-in by the PTI, most power projects will be completed before 2018. “This is happening in a country where in the past projects didn't get completed even after 20 years,” he added.

The PM stressed that infrastructure development is a pre-requisite for provision of all other facilities. He light-heartedly joked, “How do you expect a hospital to be built and maintained in remote areas where even the road has not been constructed. Do you expect us to fly hospitals there and patients be transported by air?" 

Elaborating further, the PM dismissed the notion that the incumbent government is not paying necessary attention to vital sectors of the economy like health and education. He said that 40 odd new hospitals are being built all over the country. In many districts, people have also been given health cards for free medical treatment. However, certain provinces are standing in way of successful implementation of this scheme as they perceive the federal government's success as their failure.