News
Friday, January 14, 2011
Checking corruption is walking a tightrope: PM
* Gilani says it is difficult to balance development activities, resolve national issues and check corruption simultaneously
* Govt framing laws to eradicate corruption
ISLAMABAD: Talking about corruption, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday said that checking the menace was like walking a tight rope.
Talking with envoys of Western countries at a luncheon meeting at the PM’s House, Gilani said it was difficult to balance development activities, resolve national issues and check corruption simultaneously.
Gilani said the resilience of the people had helped the government overcome multiple challenges and now Pakistan was moving fast on the recovery track.
He urged Pakistan’s allies to fulfill their pledges as any delay in development work provides room to extremists to project their negative agenda, adding that the international recession, devastating floods and presence of 3.5 million Afghan refugees had further aggravated the country’s socio-economic problems.
Gilani said that when the present government took over, it was confronted with major challenges, foremost being the revival of a democratic culture and restoration of state institutions as well as the system disrupted under the erstwhile authoritarian rule.
Consequently, he said, the government had to take up the task of amending the constitution urgently, which was infested with autocratic provisions.
The PM said the second most daunting challenge was introduction of reforms in the economic and energy sectors as well as development of backward areas.
He said that economic development of backward areas was a prerequisite to save the younger lot from falling prey to extremist propaganda.
He observed that both challenges of terrorism and economic difficulties were inter-related and inter-linked, adding that Pakistan had a firm resolve and commitment to fight terrorism.
Commenting on the political situation, the PM said the government had taken initiative to take political parties onboard in resolving national issues.
He said that keeping in view the success and continuity of the economic reforms, the government would make decisions after evolving political consensus on the agenda.
About corruption, he said the government, in consultation with the opposition, was framing accountability laws to evolve a fair system to eradicate corruption. He observed that free, fair and transparent elections could help eliminate corrupt individuals.
The PM pointed out that the government had appointed the leader of the opposition as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee to oversee official expenditures.
The media and the judiciary are also performing their duty vigilantly in this regard as well, he said, adding that honest and upright officers were being appointed on key positions to improve governance.
The PM reiterated that Pakistan wanted to cultivate good relations with its neighbours. He said the government was aggressively pursuing the policy of friendship with Afghanistan, Iran, India and China.
He regretted that “whenever we make some headway in ties with India, the Mumbai incident is used to stall the progress”.
The PM stressed upon the need to evolve a common strategy to fight terrorism and extremism by involving regional and international partners. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk