Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad has categorically stated that President Pervez Musharraf will not take any step against the spirit of the 17th Constitutional Amendment.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Rashid said that he was hopeful that whatever action the President would take, it would be within the ambit of the 17th Constitutional Amendment.
When asked about the possibility of change in the Sindh set-up, Rashid said: "Neither governor rule would be imposed in Sindh, nor there would be any military movement there. We are closely monitoring the situation and hopeful that it would improve soon."
To another question, he said that Pakistan was a frontline country in war against terrorism, so there were many hidden hands involved in the prevailing situation. He, however, expressed the hope that the situation would gradually improve.
Responding to another query, he said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement was a political reality, which could not be ignored, adding, its members come in the parliament after election and they have a vote bank, therefore, any suggestion to get rid of them was not wise.
When asked about relief for the general public in the coming budget, he said there would certainly be some relief for the masses.
To another question about Wana situation, he said that the perception of government failure there was a not true, and added that for the first time the 'writ of the government' has been enforced in this area.
He said that Osama bin Laden could be anywhere in the world: he may be in Pakistan or even in the US, so it would not be wise to say that he could be only in Pakistan.
Regarding alleged violations of Pakistani border by the US army, he said that certain elements wanted to create rift between Pakistan and the US and pointed out that there was some misunderstanding in this regard for which the Pakistan government had lodged protest with the US.
The minister also stated that change of government in the US as a result of forthcoming presidential election would not affect Pak-US relations due to Pakistan's geo-political importance.
About the wage board award for journalists, he said: "We should resolve the problem of implementation of wage board award in collaboration with the APNS."
He said due to price hike, it should be implemented. He said that the government gives Rs 1 billion advertisements to newspapers, but the information ministry is not for owners only; it also looks after the interest of journalists.
Asked whether the government would also give the slot of the opposition leader to Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) in Senate, too, after the National Assembly, Shaikh Rashid replied: "The MMA was the real opposition."
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