News
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Gilani rejects clash between institutions* PM says govt is working within its constitutional domain, respects court verdicts
* PPP will never buy loyalties of opposition members through horse-trading
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday rejected any confrontation between state institutions, saying the government was committed to democracy and constitutionalism and believed in a sovereign parliament and a free judiciary.
“This cabinet unanimously dispels the impression that our government is in any mood of confrontation with any state institution,” the prime minister told the federal cabinet.
The government, he maintained, was functioning within its ambit defined by the constitution.
“We fully respect decisions of the superior judiciary,” Gilani said while mentioning that the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) had endorsed these views in his remarks during the hearing of a case in which the government was a party.
The prime minister asserted that an atmosphere of uncertainty was being created by certain quarters about the possibility of a confrontation between state institutions.
“The PPP has always stood for protection of state institutions and will not in any way entangle or make intrusion in ambit of any other state institution,” he affirmed. The premier also apprised the federal cabinet about his meeting with the US representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman. “He was reminded that long-term Pak-US relations cannot be adversely affected by isolated acts of individuals and the two countries should remain focused on eliminating the bane of extremism from this region,” he said.
The prime minister asked the cabinet members “to revisit performance of their respective ministries” to bring up issues having a direct bearing on the life of common man. “Our performance will be judged by our deeds and not by words,” he averred.
“History will bear testimony to the fact that PPP always stood for principles of fair play and did not compromise on issues of national importance even at the cost of lives of its leaders,” Gilani said. “In Punjab, the ruling party, despite serious reservations on issues of governance, tried to maintain a working relationship with the PML-N, but unfortunately this did not go through and we had to part ways,” he said.
The PPP, Gilani emphatically declared, would not be a part of any conspiracy aimed at derailing the system and would never buy loyalties of opposition members through horse-trading. “I believe that today there is a need for politics of reconciliation, harmony and tolerance. Constitutionalism should be every political party’s cherished goal,” the prime minister said.
He said that politics of confrontation needed to be shunned.
The prime minister asked his cabinet to bring on record all agreements and MoUs signed so far, give an update on the current status and a road map for achieving the targets as agreed upon, with foreign countries. “I feel that had these agreements been properly executed our economy, social sector as a whole and physical infrastructure would have significantly improved,” he affirmed.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk