Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Friday that the Senate elections would be held on time, after which the government would present its fifth budget, an unprecedented event in the history of Pakistan.
He said he had indicated some six months ago that some elements were hatching conspiracies against the government to stop the Senate elections, however, in a few days these conspiracies would begin to unfold and the media should patiently wait for the realities behind these conspiracies to be revealed. Gilani also said if any person or party was interested in early elections, they should contact him after the Senate elections. He said he was the longest serving unanimously elected prime minister of Pakistan to date. The premier said would respect the outcome of the Supreme Court move to indict him on contempt charges. “It is our own court. I respect its decisions and will appear before it as and when called,” Gilani told reporters at the Lahore Railway Station after inaugurating the country’s first privately-run train, the Pak Business Express.
He avoided questions about writing a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and said the matter was sub judice so he could not comment on it. However, he said the government had never intended to confront any institution, nor would it make any such move in future.
Answering a question about the recent increase in petroleum prices, Gilani said it was the duty of regulatory authorities to raise or reduce oil prices according to the prices in the international market. However, he said, this time the government had supported the resolution against the raise in petroleum prices. He said he had arranged a meeting of the finance minister and National Assembly opposition leader and formed a committee to review the price increase, which would give its recommendations in a week’s time.
Talking about Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s claim that a high-ranking personality in Islamabad was involved in the dengue outbreak and the Punjab Institute of Cardiology catastrophe, he said the president had no role in it and being chief executive of the country, he himself always facilitated the Punjab government in combating the outbreak. He pointed out that during his recent visit to Davos, he also discussed the issue with World Health Organisation (WHO) experts and asked them to find a solution to the problem. Later, at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Kala Shah Kaku Toll Plaza in Shahdara, the prime minister said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had never compromised on principles and faced every trial bravely. He said dictators came and went but the vision and philosophy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto would live forever. The PPP, he said, had always made sacrifices for the cause of democracy and to uphold the constitution.
No plot can stop Senate polls: PM
