ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Monday said that the government had reservations over publication of a “ghost article” by the popular foreign media outlet ‘The Economist’.
“It is not an issue that someone cannot write an article or a book while languishing in jail. We have the objection that the article in question has not been written by the former PTI chairman,” he said while speaking in a current affairs programme of the Pakistan Television.
The minister said no such content was leaked from the jail to any media organization and The Economist published the “ghost article” in the name of the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman.
Murtaza Solangi has already announced the other day that the government was taking up the issue of the “ghost article” with The Economist.
In today’s interview, Solangi condemned the blast in Bajaur near a police van and expressed grief over the martyrdom of cops in the line of duty. He said the security forces of Pakistan were valiantly fighting terrorism in the country. The minister, to a query, responded that the elections were held in the past despite security issues.
“Our security forces have the capacity to tackle such challenges,” he added. The elections would be held on February 8, Solangi reiterated while dispelling a notion regarding the elections delay.
He said the resolution passed by the Senate for delay in elections had pointed out the challenges that existed on ground, which, however, had on potential to hamper the ongoing election process.
The power to fix or change the date of elections solely rested with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, he said, adding nobody including the administration had any right in that regard.
Concerted efforts were underway to maintain law and order, he said reaffirming the government’s commitment to provide security to leaders of all the political parties.
Solangi said that the ECP secretary was on “medical rest” and politicization of such issue should be avoided. To another query, he said many PTI candidates for the elections had got relief from the tribunals.
The PTI submitted some 2,620 nomination papers for the National Assembly, out of which 1,996 were accepted, he added. For provincial assemblies, he said the PTI submitted 1,777 nomination papers, and some 1398 were accepted. About 78.67 per cent of the nomination papers were accepted in the first stage, he added.
As regards the level-playing field, he said the matter had now become a source for the political parties to garner sympathy of their voters who would be the decider on February 8.
He said the caretaker government welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the life-time disqualification of a member of Parliament.
To another query, he said the concept of punishment should have reformative effect.
A probe body had been formed for holistic investigation of May 9 incidents, the minister said, adding the investigations of the individuals involved were underway.
The committee was mandated to determine causes, responsibility, and future course of action to prevent recurrence of such events, he added.
He said the caretaker government would bequeath the country to the next government in a better economic state.
