PM says govt not holding any backdoor talks with army, judiciary

–Abbasi says relationship between state institutions ‘strictly constitutional’

–Rules out prospects of early elections, says polls will be held on scheduled time

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday stated that the relationship between state institutions is strictly constitutional and that the government is not holding any backdoor talks with the army or judiciary.

Talking to journalists all across the country at a Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) event, Abbasi stated that the army and judiciary were working within their constitutional ambit and for the betterment of the country. He rubbished all claims of “secret talks” with the two institutions.

Speaking about the upcoming elections, PM Abbasi said that Shehbaz Sharif was nominated by Nawaz Sharif during a media talk and not during the party’s internal meeting.

The PM further said that there have been decent names selected for the caretaker PM and adhering to the constitution, a month prior to the assembly being dissolved the premiership discussions will commence.

Talking about the ongoing court verdicts, PM Abbasi said that only politicians in the country are being held accountable. However, the ones that are currently being seen are quite questionable on all fronts. He said that no one would talk about the verdicts that the court is passing lately like considering someone disqualified for life.

He further remarked that political decisions don’t take place in courts but the people of the nation decide upon that. Whatever the nation decides that party will form the government, he added.

During the elections, every party will try their best and whoever outperforms will eventually succeed. He said that PML-N has tried really hard to improve Pakistan’s situation and they are expecting a win this time around.

PM Abbasi further added that Chaudhry Nisar and Pervez Rasheed are both an imperative part of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the statements given by them are not a matter of concern as their party is like a family and that family members can have differences between them.

NO POSSIBILITY OF EARLY ELECTIONS:

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Abbasi, in an interview with a private TV channel, once again ruled out the prospects of early elections in the country and advised his political adversaries to wait for the upcoming polls.

The PM also supported the move to enfranchise expatriates as they are also Pakistanis with sophisticated exposure in foreign countries.

To a question, he said the tax amnesty scheme could be launched within next two weeks. The PM said this scheme is neither a ploy to amass wealth nor to nab people, but an attempt to formally bring the undeclared assets into the documented economy.

He said currently, only one point two million people have filed tax returns and hardly 0.7 to 0.8 per cent population bear the burden of paying taxes.

The PM said that the national identity cards could be utilised for creation of profiles to wider the tax net.

About China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the PM said it is aimed at wider connectivity and under its umbrella, different energy and infrastructure projects are being implemented.

To a question about US-Pak ties, he said Pakistan has fought a successful war on terrorism and cleared all the sanctuaries. He further said that war is no solution to Afghan issue and Pakistan is ready to facilitate the negotiated settlement of the conflict.

Abbasi stressed upon the repatriation of about three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.