PML-N to contest next election on basis of its best five-year performance

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would contest the next general election on the basis of its five-year best performance and unprecedented development work.
“Whatever the present PML-N government has done over the last five years, including the strengthening of economy, maintaining law and order etc., is unmatchable and has never been done by any government in the past. It is a fact and history will prove it,” the prime minister said while speaking in a private television (Geo News) programme “Jirga”.
To a question about Indian army chief’s remarks, he said India might have several objectives but it should realize the situation along the Line of Control (LoC).
Ruling out any prospects of war, the prime minister said both the countries should avoid escalation. “There are no threats of war. It might be a political gimmick on their part,” he added.
The prime minister said Pakistan had never indulged in unilateral actions. It always stood for dialogue but it should be based upon respect and without compromising on the core issue Jammu and Kashmir.
To another question, he said no case was pending against Hafiz Saeed inside Pakistan. It was the Election Commission which looked into the matters of registering political parties and the government had nothing to do with it, he added.
Prime Minister Abbasi also rejected the perception that there was any tussle among the state institutions. It was part of democratic system in which judiciary, executive and media were trying to create their spaces, he added.
He said he had never commented on the judicial verdicts. On July 28 last year, a decision was delivered which had no legal precedent but it was implemented without a hitch, he added.
The prime minister said whatever he said was about public opinion over the decision. The public had not accepted it, he said, adding that Nawaz Sharif’s receivable was declared as his salary instead of deciding the case on Panama Papers.
Each case had its effects and only history would tell, he remarked. Whether the process adopted in that particular case had any such precedent in the past, he questioned. The verdict without a right to appeal always raised questions, he added.
About the problems in Afghanistan, the prime minister said Pakistan had always been supportive of an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned solution. “The world, including Pakistan, can only play the role of a facilitator,” he added.
He also referred to the trilateral Pakistan-Afghanistan-China process initiated by China to address the issue and said Pakistan always stood for peace in the brotherly country.
The prime minister also mentioned the presence of three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and said the world should help in their repatriation.
About the proposed merger of FATA with KP, he said the recent legislation to extend the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court to FATA was a step forward in that respect and all other recommendations would also be implemented gradually.
To a question about the privatization of PIA, he said the government had suffered $ 4.5 billion losses to run the national flag carrier. It was his personal and professional opinion that without wasting more time and money PIA should be privatized so that it could compete with other airlines.

The prime minister said next general election would be held in July 2018 while he saw no threat to the Senate polls as there was no constitutional challenge in that regard. All political parties wanted continuation of democracy in the country, he added.
To a question, he said he always had stated that in the Constitution only an elected government could be removed through a no-confidence motion. He had no pressure to dissolve the assembly and if his party asked him then he would do so, he added.
He said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was his leader but all decisions were taken by the cabinet. About the PML-N candidate for the next prime minister, he said, the party would take a decision.
The prime minister said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal’s statement about effects on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) project due to instability in the country, was quoted out of context. He did not understand that such kind of situation would affect the CPEC project, which, however, might disturb investors. The CPEC was a visible programme, he added.
The prime minister termed the report of setting up of a military base by the Chinese government at Gwadar baseless, which was Indian propaganda. Gwadar was a commercial port and it would be used only for commercial purposes, he added.
About the United States concern on the CPEC, the prime minister said it was a bilateral agreement between Pakistan and China and no other country could speculate over it.
To a question about Pak-US relations after Donald Trump’s statement, the prime minister said regular dialogue process between the two countries was going on at all levels.

Source: APP