Reconciliation vital for fair, free elections: PM
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that close coordination and political reconciliation is essential for peaceful, free and fair elections in the country.
The Prime Minister was talking to Talha Mahmood, JUI Senator and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Secretary General PML and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Relations who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House here. The Prime Minister said that the government has always encouraged close coordination among all political parties so that common approach can be developed to strengthen the democratic process. In order to achieve reconciliation, cooperation and participation by all political parties, he said, the elected representatives of the people have an important and critical role to play.
The Parliamentary Committees, he added can play a pivotal role in promoting cross parties cooperation. The meeting also discussed the overall law and order situation in the country and the Code of Conduct to be developed for maintaining law and order before, during and after the forthcoming general elections in the country. The deliberations of the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Home Secretaries and Inspector Generals of Police held yesterday were also discussed.
The Prime Minister said that Federal and Provincial governments are closely cooperating with the Law Enforcing Agencies to ensure peaceful elections and all security plans being developed as a result must be strictly adhered to by all political parties.
The Prime Minister said that the interaction between various politicalparties will augur well for the promotion of democracy and to ensure conducive atmosphere for the upcoming elections. Mushahid Hussain Sayed updated the Prime Minister regarding his interaction with several visiting delegations about the Pakistan’s political process and the upcoming elections. He said that the upcoming elections would be free and fair during which the local and foreign observers will be invited to witness the process.
The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azeem Khan.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, in the next couple of days is expected to kick off contacts with political forces to create reconciliation among political discipline, code of conduct for the General Election as well as law and order situation in the country.
According to sources in the ruling government, President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had already contacted some politicians in this respect. Some persons in the ruling government also reviewing the demands of Pakistan People Party Parliamentarian about interim government setup in the country.
Moreover, PPP points of the dissolution of local bodies system for three months and the changing of governors in the four provinces for the election are also under consideration.
However, the ruling government strongly opposed the dissolution of district government set up demanded by PPP. Sources said that the ruling government tries their best to take other oppositions parties in confidence against the demands of PPPP.
Some political parties have observed that local bodies could influence the General Election and could use the governmental machinery to get winner their favorite candidate in the election.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan fully supports the United Nations reforms and the pilot project being undertaken in the country for a single window UN system is proceeding quite well.
The Prime Minister said this during a telephonic conversation with the Secretary General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon on Sunday. The two leaders discussed Pakistan’s role as the Chairman of the G-77 group in ensuring that the UN activities reflect the aspirations and wishes of the developing countries.
They also discussed the efforts for the implementation of decisions of the UN reforms meeting of the High-level Panel which was co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister of Mozambique Luisa Dias Diogo.
The UN Secretary General appreciated Pakistan’s role in ensuring regional peace and security as well as the contribution made to the United Nations peace keeping operations in many countries around the world.