ISLAMABAD - Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Sunday took notice of media reports regarding closure of the polio cell in the Prime Minister's Secretariat and ordered its immediate restoration.
Reiterating his commitment to eradication of polio in the country, the premier reviewed his decision after a presentation about the implications of such a move by Federal Minister Dr Sania Nishtar on national polio eradication efforts.
The prime minister directed relevant authorities that necessary administrative directions be issued for immediate restoration of the polio cell to its status before his caretaker government took the office.
Khoso affirmed the health of the children was very close to his heart, and that high-level commitment was necessary to eradicate the paralysing disease from the country.
NNI adds: Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso said free, fair and transparent elections cannot be held without retired judges; hence, they should be taken up in the interim set up.
In an interview with PTV‚ he said when he became Prime Minister there were many problems and issues including electricity crisis‚ and deteriorating law and order situation among others but ensured transparent and timely elections in the country, adding, that hopefully, the new government will stabilise democracy.
"We were determined to hold elections at all costs and Election Commission did its work efficiently. He said there have been some allegations of irregularities in the election but overall the election was free and fair," he said.
He said political parties fully participated in the elections process and now is the phase of government formation at the Centre and the provinces which will be completed in a few days.
Responding to a question regarding speculations on postponement of elections‚ the Prime Minister said there had been some security related issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan but we were determined to hold elections on time at all costs.
He said with the coming of new government the helm of affairs is now in the hands of elected representatives that will lead to stability‚ prosperity and development of the country. He said the current leadership is efficient and has understanding of all the problems facing the country.
Responding to a question on Balochistan, he said level of education in the province is not at par with other provinces and literacy level needs to be increased.
He said Karachi situation needs to be tackled carefully as it is financial hub of the country and people of many ethnicities live there. He said we have to rise above as a nation and for this we need to follow the principles of unity‚ faith and discipline as given by founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He said he is very pleased that democratic process continued with the conduct of elections.