Govt will avoid confrontation between state institutions, says PM

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that the government wanted to avoid confrontation between state institutions and aimed to strengthen them further instead. Gilani was talking to reporters after the launch of a photo exhibition titled “Spirit of Peace” held here at the PNCA Auditorium upon completion of 50 years of Pakistan’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping.
Asked if he would attend a dinner being hosted by the chief justice to honour Justice Javed Iqbal, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court who is retiring, Gilani kept his options open, saying: “You can expect anything from me.” As the prime minister was flanked by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a reporter asked whether he supported the army’s notion that it could fight the war on terror with Pakistan’s own resources, to which Gilani replied that the government and the armed forces were on the same page over the issue.
Gilani told the gathering earlier that Pakistan rejected efforts to establish a regional hegemony by any state. He said the reform of the Security Council was a matter of fundamental interest and importance to all the member states and Pakistan supported democratisation of the UN system to make representation at the Security Council equitable.
“However, there are deep differences regarding the expansion of the council and the ambitions of some states to become permanent members. Pakistan has a longstanding principled position against increase of permanent members.
The uniting for consensus proposal, of which Pakistan is a member, offers the best basis for a solution that can accommodate the interests of all member states.
This is possible to achieve through patient and serious negotiations aimed at creating consensus. Any reform of the UNSC must reflect a greater role of the regions in determining their representation on the Council and accommodation of the interests of all states and groupings through rotation and re-election,” he said.
He said fighting militancy and terrorism was a collective responsibility of the civilised world and it called for the adoption of a “partnership approach”. The unending blame game and singling out Pakistan and the Muslim community in this regard “will not advance our shared goal of eliminating terrorism,” he said, adding that extremist tendencies had transcended cultures and religions.