ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that his prime concern in addressing the problems of the country would be reducing the government’s expenditure and increasing revenue. The Prime Minister said this in an exclusive interview with Turkish Media outlet TRT on Tuesday adding that the economy of the country required to be revitalized to provide relief to the common man.
Appreciating the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on rainy days, the prime minister said that it would provide an opportunity to focus on bringing down pressure on the poor masses of the country. He further said that despite limited time he and his government would try their best to provide a blueprint for the future political setup to overcome the economic challenges of the country.
The prime minister assured the coming election would be held in a fair and transparent way without any favour to a political party or a group.
Responding to a question over protests in the country including those from the PTI, Kakar said that a peaceful protest was the basic and democratic right of all and sundry and the government would have no issue with such peaceful demonstration, however added that any kind of vandalism in the name of protest would not be allowed.
PM Kakar on Imran Khan’s Removal
When asked about the alleged involvement of the United States in the removal of ex-prime minister Imran Khan, Kakar termed it a conspiracy theory, adding that sometimes politicians used to circulate such statements for populist reasons, but in the said case the caretaker government would not allow anyone including the United States of America to interfere in the domestic affairs of the country. He further said that as a sovereign country, Pakistan exercises things according to its own interests.
On civil-military relations, the prime minister said that for proper governance, the civilian institutions had been relying on the military due to its organizational capabilities and to deal with day-to-day challenges in different areas including education, health, disaster management, and tax revenue collection, adding that the civil institutions required to enhance their capability to improve service delivery in a better way.
Relations with Afghanistan
Regarding security concerns with Afghanistan, Kakar said that the Afghan-led government had the capacity issues to respond to certain terrorist groups on their soil, which he believed as a major concern and a threat not only to Pakistan but to the rest of the world, adding that Pakistan alone had lost over 90,000 individuals in fighting against the menace of terrorism.
Pak-India Ties
Over Pak-India relations, the prime minister said that Pakistan faced difficult times in terms of economy and security, however, there was nothing to be worried about or to become obsessed and feel insecure due to India’s “apparent success”, adding that individuals and nations both passed through different phases of times. He said that he was hopeful for a shining and promising future for Pakistan and that the country would be soon out of its economic quagmire.
The prime minister said that Pakistan desired a meaningful dialogue with all its neighbours including India.
“We do want peace with India, however with parity and justice and to be linked with the resolution of the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to hold a plebiscite in the valley.
Minorities in Pakistan
Talking about the rights of minorities in Pakistan and over the incident of ill-treatment to the Christian community in Jaranwala, the prime minister said that the top officials including the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the army chief showed their strong commitment to their public position to sympathize and empathize with the affected minorities. The church being attacked was renovated within 24 hours, Kakar said.
Talking about any change in blasphemy law, the prime minister said it was out of the legislative domain of the caretaker setup, but the parliament was empowered to bring any change in it.
“We have to wait for a response from the parliament and there are different political parties including PML-N, PTI, PPP, etc., who should actually conduct a detailed debate on such issues on the floor of the parliament, in case these parties feel a need to change the law”, Kakar said.
