Lawyers want anarchy: CM

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE-Chief Minister Punjab Ch Pervaiz Elahi has said neither the elections will be postponed, nor the term of the Assemblies will be extended. Moreover, by-elections will not be held on the seats which fell vacant due to resignation of the Opposition members.

He was addressing a Press conference at Chief Minister’s Secretariat, here on Monday.

While asking the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leaders and workers to remain in their constituencies, and prepare themselves for the elections, he said that democratic process would continue as President General Pervez Musharraf had imposed emergency for the stability of the country and protection of the national interests.

‘The Assemblies are completing their Constitutional term after 30 years. President Musharraf has always taken decisions while keeping the national interests in view. He will honour his commitments’, said Pervaiz Elahi, while accusing some persons, sans naming them, for creating hurdles in the functioning of the legislative and the executive organs of the State.

‘It has been ensured through emergency proclamation to protect the national economy, law and order, and ensure political stability. Because of vested interests, certain people were not allowing national institutions to function’, he added.

‘After General Musharraf has been elected by the Assemblies, the issuance of the notification was not allowed, hence adversely affecting the economy, and stability of the country’, he maintained.

He denied the assertion that the govt had imposed emergency to prolong its rule.
‘There is no truth in the news items appearing in the Press regarding extension of Assemblies’, he said, while offering no comment on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s statement that the term of the present Assemblies could be extended.

‘The Prime Minister can tell you about it’, he concluded.

Pervaiz Elahi, while criticising the PPP, accused its leadership of an effort to avoid the elections.

‘The PPP is trying to avoid elections, as it does not have candidates. Besides its popularity graph is going down. Benazir Bhutto has been pardoned for her corruption, but the masses will never forgive her. Still cases are pending against her in the courts of Switzerland and Spain and she, instead of facing, is trying to escape’, he said, while ,adding, that such people were churning out rumours.

‘They are not letting the situation to improve, and trying to deteriorate it. People will not forgive those, who tried to destabilise Pakistan’, he added, while asserting that the PML (Q) would not go for seat adjustments with the PPP.

‘We will fight them in every constituency. The PPP wants to have its men adjusted as Ministers and at other slots. It must contest elections instead of running from it.

We are also inviting the PML (N) remaining leaders to join us, which is on individual basis’. ‘Nawaz Sharif is out of the country for another three years’, he said, while hinting at the possibility of adjustments after the elections.

He also said that govt had always been in contact with Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
About October 9 PPP rally at Rawalpindi, the CM said nothing has been decided about it. ‘We are looking into the matter. I doubt whether the PPP has applied for the permission or not’, he said.

To a question about torturing and arresting the lawyers, he said some lawyers were trying to create anarchy, while thousands of lawyers were with the govt and majority of them did not believe in hooliganism.

‘They must be observing the law, which is equal for all. Emergency has been imposed, and they should observe the law’, he said.

When quizzed about the duration of the emergency, he did not reply specifically to this, but ,added, that ‘there are some objectives of the emergency imposition, which will be materialised, and the democratic system will continue’.

About divergent rumours, he said there was no truth in the rumours. To an assertion by a journalist that such rumours had not surfaced provided the television networks had been functioning. ‘Watch PTV to ascertain the truth’, he said.

While replying to a question regarding media regulations, he said a code of conduct was being prepared in consultation with the media representatives, who would be taken into confidence.

‘We go to extremes immediately instead of adopting a middle way policy. We will resolve all the issues after convincing them and taking them into confidence’, he said.

‘Let the situation unfold’, he said to a question about his nomination as the next Prime Minister.

He declined the statement that any of the judges were under house arrest.
‘Only those took oath under the Provision Constitution Order, who were invited to do so’, he added.

Dawn 5/Nov/07