Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that his statement about the architect of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was misquoted. Talking to media after addressing the World Telecom Day here on Monday at a local hotel, the Prime Minister clarified that he said it would have been better if the court had summoned the architect of NRO.
When asked about Awami National Party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan statement that President can not hold two offices, Prime Minister said there was no restriction on the President for holding two offices. To a question about reorganisation of Muttahid Mujlis-e-Ammal by Jumiat Ulema-e-Islam Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Gilani said he was happy with the development. The Prime Minister said that his party would let the JUI chief to leave them even if he desires so.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, Prime Minister said that the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebration is indicative of the importance, which the democratic government attaches to the role of telecommunication in the national development.
"We live in an age, which is defined by the battle of ideas between exclusive and inclusive forces," Gilani said, adding that acquiring state of the art technologies is a must to win the battle of hearts and minds, besides creating space for civilisations harmony and broad-based interfaith dialogue. Our capacity to deal with natural disasters is also proportional to the use of telecommunication technology.
He said the democratic government under his watch is fully aware of its responsibilities. The government, he said, is committed to facilitate the development of communication infrastructure through well defined regulatory, policy and legislative framework. The Prime Minister said that Pakistan telecom policy is characterised by a mix of public-private partnership and policy of deregulation. "We have introduced massive reforms in this critical sector under the umbrella of National ICT Research and Development Fund and Universal Service Fund.
Gilani said that the Fund under the Ministry of Information Technology in April awarded two contracts of Rs 1.037 billion to PTCL and Wateen. It would provide Broadband internet services in the un-served urban areas of Central Telecom Region.
"This project would also provide internet connectivity to 37 towns and cities including Kasur, Sheikupura, Nankana Sahib, Okara, Pakpattan and Sahiwal. In addition to this, 215 higher secondary schools, colleges, and libraries would be networked with the broadband connection and 57 Community Broadband Centers would also be established. On the whole, 1,01, 500 broadband connections would be given under the project," he added.
The Prime Minister said that the project envisages to bring the digitally less developed areas of the country at par with the developed ones, thereby reducing the gap between 'technological haves and have-nots'. He said that these digital highways across different districts of Pakistan would provide the foundation upon which the edifice of a prosperous country could be laid. So far, the Universal Service Fund has invested well over Rs 13 billion.
Gilani said that the fund also continues to run Rural Telecom projects under which 3000 un-served villages have been given internet connectivity while work to provide service to another 3000 villages is underway. President Zardari during his visit to Bahwalpur in April also inaugurated a project to provide Broadband Service to Southern Punjab, which would mainstream these areas. The Government aims at empowering people economically and technologically through digital revolution, he said.
The Prime Minister said broadband is a key to Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations on poverty reduction. The democratic government is also implementing E-governance paradigm to enable people to have access to official documents and information in an efficient manner. "We have also established an open and transparent bidding system where documents and bidding details have been made available on its website," he added.
He said that this year's theme "Better Cities, Better Life with ICs" indicates that there is a long distance that we have yet to cover. "We cannot afford to rest on our laurels and be complacent on our achievements. We also seek to strengthen our ties with multilateral agencies like International Telecommunication Union to benefit from international best practices to promote Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs," added Gilani.
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