Qamar Zaman Kaira says interim government not before March 2013

Ruling out formation of an interim set-up before the scheduled time, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said the caretaker government will be installed after completion of the five-year term of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) government on March 18, 2013.

While speaking to the media, he clarified that the interim setup will be established only to hold general elections within two months.

He observed, “Formation of interim government in November or December this year is not possible. It is too early to hold talks with the opposition on the issue because about six months are left.”

Ruling out talks with the opposition about the interim set-up at this stage, he said that he wasn’t satisfied by PML-N’s efforts to evolve consensus with other parties on an interim premier.

He noted, “Even one of the leaders (Attaullah Mengal) the PML-N had proposed as caretaker prime minister laughed at its non-seriousness in short-listing the names”.

The minister categorically rejected the perception that the government had struck a deal with the Supreme Court over writing a letter to the Swiss authorities about reopening graft cases against President Asif Zardari.

He stated, “It is not appropriate to say that there is any deal with the judiciary over the letter. The situation was different when Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani was the prime minister and the Supreme Court has now given the government a middle way.”

He claimed that PPP’s opponents were creating an impression that the ruling party had changed its stance over the matter.

In his view, Gilani was aware of the new situation and they hadn’t changed their stance at all. There is no question about the defeat or victory of the government or the judiciary over the matter, he added.

The minister criticized the PML-N leadership for fanning provincialism over the issue of new federating units in the country.

He explained, “The Punjab Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution for creating south Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces but now the PML-N is running away from its commitment.”

While replying to a query about the recent defections in the PPP, Kaira categorically rejected the impression that Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Ghazanfar Gul are going to quit the party.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Sep 26 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.