No miracle, polls in 2013: Gilani

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that there would be no midterm or short-term elections before 2013 and “daydreamers” who were waiting for a miracle before the March 12 Senate elections would have to wait for their turn, in a thinly-veiled allusion to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif.
He told reporters at the oath-taking ceremony of the office-holders of Lahore Press Club that some people were seeking a shortcut into government but no such thing would take place. The premier said all the institutions were working well in their capacities and the opposition was threatened by the majority of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Senate.
Gilani started his speech at the ceremony with the topic of “welfare of journalists” but suddenly switched to criticising the Sharif brothers halfway through it, slamming the Sharifs and favouring new provinces as a way to curb alienation. He said to be a third-time prime minister was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif’s issue, “not Gilani’s”. But those who spoke of a shortcut should wait for their turn, he added.
He said he was in favour of smaller parties, which was why he had invited all parties, even those that had no representation in parliament. He also vowed that all promises made by President Asfi Ali Zardari would be fulfilled by the government. Gilani said if he had any bad intentions he would have objected to the third-time premiership as it was only going to benefit Nawaz, but “I never did so”.
The premier said the PPP-led government worked for the welfare of the people and tried to benefit small provinces by granting them provincial autonomy through the 18th Amendment. He said further that smaller provinces demanded autonomy and if such demands had been fulfilled earlier, the country would not have been broken. He also said the Balochistan package had been given to eliminate the grievances of the province and it was a start to granting rights to the people of Balochistan.
LIBYA’S NEW GOVERNMENT: The prime minister said Pakistan-US relations were getting better and the government would not take any steps that went against national interest. The prime minister also stated that Pakistan would recognise Libya’s new government. He said the PPP believed in strengthening the nation and the government would remain intact until the people supported it. The PPP believed in free media and had always provided freedom to all in the country without discrimination and never imposed restrictions on media institutions, he added.
Acknowledging the role of journalists against dictatorial and autocratic regimes in the country, he said their sacrifices for the freedom of expression and social liberties had paved the way for rejuvenated democracy in the country. He said the government was fully aware of the fact that democracy and journalism were integral to each other. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father, had rightly said: “Nation and press rise and fall together.”
“The incidents from our national history authenticate this saying of our beloved Quaid. Pakistan People’s Party has waged a struggle for freedom and promotion of journalism right from day one. Our leaders, Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Montrama Benazir Bhutto, participated in the protest camps of journalists as a demonstration of solidarity with them in this city,” the premier said.
‘BLACK LAWS’: Gilani said the government had fulfilled its commitment by canceling all “black laws” of the dictator (former president Pervez Musharraf), which were imposed to curtail media freedom. He said the amendments introduced in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance of 2002 and Press Laws 2007 had been repealed and no impediment in the freedom of expression would be tolerated any longer.
Gilani announced the establishment of an endowment fund for the families of deceased journalists, but avoided mentioning the contentious issue of the Journalists Housing Society. He said, however, that the Pakistan Press Council would be made functional and effective. The PM also announced a grant of Rs 10 million for Lahore Press Club and told the federal information secretary and the Evacuee Trust Property Board chairman to look into the demands of the journalists for soft loans in order to facilitate them in building their houses.
LAWYERS: Later in the day, the prime minister attended the Lahore High Court & District Bar Associations Ceremony at Governor’s House, Lahore and also unveiled the plaque at foundation stone laying ceremony of Benazir Shaheed Lawyer’s Hospital, to be built on Dev Samaj Road. The prime minister announced grants of Rs 20 million for the Lahore High Court Bar Association and Rs 10 million for the Lahore Bar Association. Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa also addressed the function.