Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid has assured that the process of appointment of Chairman National Accountability Bureau will soon be completed.
Talking to the media persons in Rawalpindi Saturday‚ the Information Minister said consultation will be held with the opposition parties and those in the government to bring a consensus chairman.
In this connection‚ the prime minister has directed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to hold negotiations with the opposition parties. He said the matter also faced delay because of the foreign visit of Leader of the Opposition Khurshid Shah.
When asked about the first 100-day performance of the present government‚ the information minister said significant progress was made on serious issues including energy‚ terrorism and Karachi which the previous two governments did not even dare to touch.
He said those criticizing the performance of present government should also recall the 100 days of Pervez Musharraf and the PPP governments. We cleared the circular debt of 500 billion rupees and removed inefficiencies in the energy sector. These steps helped improve electricity generation to the record 16000 megawatt.
He said the previous two governments failed to address the issue of terrorism but the incumbent government has made a major headway in addressing this issue. We have also tried to address the situation in Karachi and now the law is taking its course against criminals there. He said we took the challenges head on and all possible steps were taken to address them.
Responding to a question‚ he said those involved in molestation of five year minor in Lahore will be brought to justice at all costs. He said there is zero tolerance for criminals involved in such kind of heinous crimes.
When asked about the dialogue process with the Taliban‚ Pervaiz Rashid urged the media‚ intelligentsia and the civil society to avoid commenting on this serious and sensitive matter. Any misunderstanding and confusion should be avoided for the success of this process.
Earlier addressing a function in connection with Defense and Independence Day at Anjuman-e-Faizul Islam‚ the Information Minister said the government is striving to resolve the issues of terrorism and Balochistan through dialogue process.
He said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had treaded the legal and democratic course for the separate homeland and we are also following his footprints to achieve the objectives of peace and stability in the country.
He regretted that efforts were made in the past to find solution to the problems through use of force which yielded negative results. He was confident that the dialogue process will remain fruitful in making the country peaceful and secure.
On the occasion‚ the Minister also distributed prizes amongst the outstanding students of the institution.