Interim govts next month: Durrani

LAHORE—Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani announced here on Tuesday that interim governments would be formed on Nov 15 to hold fair and free elections.

He said at a news conference that the only mandate of the caretaker government, to be formed by President Pervez Musharraf, would be to ensure free, fair and impartial elections.

The minister said that the president would consult all political parties before appointing the caretaker prime minister and chief ministers, adding that non-controversial people would head the governments.

In reply to a question about Benazir Bhutto, Mr Durrani said that she would be dealt with in accordance with the law and Constitution upon her arrival in Karachi on Oct 18.

He urged Mr Shahbaz Sharif to start playing the role of an elder brother in the PML-N and pursue the politics of reconciliation, instead of confrontation.

The minister said that by completing its five-year term the present government had broken the past routine of pre-mature dissolution of governments. Similarly, he said, the government wanted to eliminate the tradition of “arranged elections”.

The polls would be monitored by observers from all over the world, he added.

He said the ruling PML and its allies would take part in the election with the agenda of advancement of democracy and development and progress of the country.

In reply to a question, Mr Durrani said the government would respect all judgments of judiciary. “The judiciary was attacked and termed kangaroo courts in the past, but the present government has given it respect and accepted all its judgments with open heart,” he asserted.

He claimed that the National Reconciliation Ordinance had been promulgated in the best interests of the country and it was aimed at bringing politics of confrontation to an end.

He, however, said that the criticism of the ordinance by the nation and media was a heartening development. The minister said that courts were dealing with the matter and the government would accept their verdicts.

The minister said that the president had sincerely advised Ms Bhutto to delay her return, adding that it was her own decision to go into exile 10 years ago.