ISLAMABAD – Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Saturday said the government team would hold a meeting with Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran Chief Tahirul Qadri in Lahore today (Sunday) to discuss ways and means for the implementation of the accord reached with him.
Talking to media people, Kaira said the government had completed its homework and formal talks would be held with Qadri to work out doable in the agreement remaining within the ambit of the Constitution and law of the land.
To a question, he termed Leader of Opposition Ch Nisar’s demand for removal of all the four provincial governors before the installation of the caretaker government illogical and against the Constitution. “How can we meet his demand remaining within the limits of the 18th Constitutional Amendment?” he questioned.
He further said it had been clearly defined in the 18th Constitutional Amendment that a caretaker prime minister would be selected by the leader of the house in the National Assembly and leader of the opposition and there was no mention of removal of governors in the Constitution. “It seems the leader of the opposition has no faith in the Constitution and the unanimous amendments introduced in it,” he added.
Kaira pointed out that Ch Nisar Ali Khan used to take a different line and even sometimes he and his party chief Nawaz Sharif were not on the same page.
To another question, Kaira said former OGRA chief Tauqir Sadiq was appointed on the recommendation of a committee and the prime minister was not responsible for it. The then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had constituted the committee to ensure transparency and he should not be subjected to media trial, he added.
To another question, he said the government had no concern over the arrest of Tauqir Sadiq. Thousands of the criminals wanted by the government and courts were absconding, he added. Tauqir Sadiq’s passport had been cancelled and it could be ascertained from the flights and airport security if he had gone abroad by air or otherwise, he added.
To another question‚ Kaira said this country was created by politicians and they would protect it too. He said the media should report judiciary’s decisions rather than judges’ remarks.
Romour-mongers were out to confuse Kamran Faisal’s death, Kaira said and added: “Let the medical and chemical analysis report come, which will help ascertain the real causes of his death.” He further said a commission, led by a former senior judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, had already been constituted to probe the matter.
To a question, the information minister said the court’s remarks should not be considered as judgment of the court.
To a question about deletion of Section 302 from the FIR against the owners of a garment factory in Karachi, he said the PM had directed the chief secretary to only investigate the matter as per law.
To a question about the caretaker government in Balochistan which was under the governor's rule, the federal information minister explained that the provincial government had been dismissed, but the provincial assembly was very much intact. He further said that there was a provision that in case of non-existence of a provincial assembly, the National Assembly could exercise its powers for establishing a caretaker government in the province through the same procedure adopted for setting up a caretaker government at the federal level.
Regarding the killers of Benazir Bhutto, he said one accused, Baitullah Mehsud, had been killed while the second one was at large. The case is sub judice, so no more comments could be offered on this count, he held.