Govt fully committed to holding polls on February 18: Nisar
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Nisar A. Memon said on Thursday that the government is fully committed to holding free, fair and transparent elections on February 18. “Pakistan is confronting two types of terrorism including one at the hands of terrorists and the other in the form of propaganda being levelled by some foreign media elements,” he said while talking in a TV show.
The Minister said when some elements continue to pursue a propaganda campaign then “you have to respond and counter it.”
Nisar Memon said a number of election commission offices were burnt down in riots after assassination of PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto that made it impossible for the Election Commission to conduct elections on January 8.
Emphasizing the need to adopt a positive approach, he said propaganda was being levelled by some elements to damage the credibility of the caretaker set up and democratic process as well.
He said no one can make predictions about the election results as no “simulation model” has ever been made in our democratic system to assess anything prior to its happening. To a question he said that caretaker set up is impartial under constitutional obligation and ready to hold elections in a peaceful environment.
The Minister said it was quite a positive development that Pakistan People’s Party decided to participate in the general elections that would further strengthen the democratic process in the country.
Answering a question, he said the powers of Senate have been significantly increased as it is a symbol of federation having equal representation of all the provinces. He said the Senators held detailed discussion over each and every national issue and even submitted their budgetary proposals after a comprehensive discussion in the House.
He said the Senate had also unanimously passed a resolution not to send Pakistani troops to Iraq on the US request, adding some 10,000 Pakistan troops are serving in UN peacekeeping forces across the world.
Dilating upon the role of media, the Minister said it should follow the code of conduct and play its positive role in the larger national interest.
Nisar Memon said Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was established in 2002 to pave the way for promotion of private media.
He said some media channels had not been following the rules and regulations set by PEMRA that resulted in closure of some channels.
He said television channels that were ready to follow the code of conduct have been allowed to go on air and hoped that local media would follow the international standards that were unfortunately not the case in the past.
To another question, he said PTV transmission would be expanded to every nook and corner of the country and provincial information ministers and secretaries along with the federal secretary information would evolve a strategy to ensure it.