New federal, provincial Govts to be formed by mid of March: Afzal
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Federal Caretaker Minister for Law and Justice, Afzal Haider on Tuesday said the process of forming new governments at the federal and the provincial levels would be completed by mid of next month. Talking to APP about results of the general elections, the Minister said that the caretaker government fulfilled its commitment of holding free,fair and transparent elections which proved credibility of the caretaker government.
“We are happy over the results which is acceptable to all the political parties without any reservation,” the Minister said.
The world community especially foreign observers have appreciated results of the elections terming it a free and fair poll process, he said.
About process of formation of new governments, Afzal Haider said the Election Commission of Pakistan would issue official notification of the final results of the newly elected members of the National and Provincial Assemblies according to the provisions of the Election laws. After the issuance of official notification, the parties who have won elections will finalizes their strategies regarding the formation of the governments, he said.
First session of the National and Provincial Assemblies would be convened for oath taking of the newly elected members, he said. Regarding role of caretaker government, the Minister said, “We have completed our mandate regarding holding of elections. Now it depends on the leadership of the political parties and they should make efforts to form governments as soon as possible.” With the finalization of the entire process of formation of new government, the caretakers will hand over the charge to the emerging governments.
Commenting on holding of peaceful elections, Afzal Haider said, “Thanks to Allah Almighty, no unfortunate incident occurred on the polling day.”
The Minister said that the government was devoted to upholding human rights with complete regard for democratic institutions.
He urged all the political parties to work for the national interests. He appreciated the role of foreign and local media as well as observers for playing a positive role in ensuring transparency and credibility of the elections.
He also lauded role of the Election Commission, law enforcement agencies and the concerned authorities for providing effective security. “It was an apt time for the whole nation to create unity in their ranks and face the menace of terrorism by bolstering the democracy,” he added.
In a statement he congratulated the nation on the peaceful polls and said that holding of elections in a challenging situation was a success of the caretaker government.