Government in contact with opposition to improve political atmosphere: Durrani

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani on Sunday said the government was in contact with opposition parties for the last many years to improve political atmosphere in the country.
In an interview with a private television channel, he said, on various occasions headway was made in talks with political parties. An effort was made to steer the political system towards a positive atmosphere, he added.
As a result of these contacts, women protection bill was enacted and free and fair elections were held in 2002. The present contacts are made to ensure free and transparent elections, he said adding they wanted to work for a new culture of accommodation, which lessens political confrontation and issues are resolved through a political process.
A positive atmosphere will be created in which the next government completes its tenure and no change occurs through use of article 58(2) B, he stressed. The minister said the presidential spokesman and Pakistan's ambassador in Dubai had denied any meeting between Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf.
He said he was not in a position to confirm any such meeting and did not want to confuse people. Indirect contacts were made and these will continue in future as well, he explained.
However, he said the objective of these indirect contacts was more than a deal. The contacts are meant to give political parties confidence that elections will be transparent and any of their reservations will be removed. Durrani said the ruling PML and PPP will contest elections from their own platform and will not enter into any election alliance at the time of polls.
The PML will take part in the elections on the basis of its seven year performance and PML President Chaudhry Shujaat has given a clear statement on the issue. After general elections, every party will be free to form its own government by gaining majority in the assemblies, he added.
To a question, he said presidential elections will be held and opposition parties can put up their own candidate. He said he could not speak on behalf of other ministers issuing statements on government-opposition meetings and was only responsible for the statements emanating from ministry of information. To a question, he said PML (N) sometimes accept contacts with the government and on other occasions deny it.