'Respect Constitution, national flag': government ready to hold talks with dissidents, says Prime Minister

The government is ready to hold talks with dissident Baloch leaders if they start respecting the country's Constitution and the national flag, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Tuesday. Speaking in the Senate, the prime minister said: "We're ready to (hold) talk with all dissident Balcoh leaders but on condition that they must respect the Constitutional and Pakistan's flag."
Urging all Baloch dissident leaders to take part in the upcoming general elections, the prime minister said that people who would be voted to power would be the only rightful representatives of the people of Balochistan. Highlighting his party's sacrifices to uphold the rule of law and for the restoration of democracy, he said: "I belong to the middle class...I've been elected as the country's chief executive only because of democracy."
The government, he said, was fully cognisant of challenges faced by the country, adding that it (the government) would handle all problems with responsibility and steer the country out of crisis. "Parliament must play its due role to resolve issues and challenges confronting the nation," he said. Narrating the achievements of the PPP-led coalition government, he said that it (the coalition government) had restored the 1973 Constitution in its original form, implemented the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and authored other major constitutional amendments.
Insisting that parliament was the only supreme decision-making body and senate was its most important part, the prime minister said: "We identify important issues and bring them before these houses [National Assembly and Senate] and try to resolve them by holding debates," he added. Replying to various questions raised by lawmakers, Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the Balochistan issue had political as well as administrative dimensions and resolving it was his highest priority. "We will rectify (past) mistakes," he said.
He said that there would be free and fair elections and true Baloch leadership would come to assemblies as a result of these elections. "When I took over as prime minister, I devised a new transfer policy of civil servants in Balochistan. Now, competent bureaucrats are working there," he stated. About the hike in petroleum prices, Ashraf said that the matter was not in government control. "We give subsidy, but it must be targeted, instead of just throwing it across the board," he added.
Reiterating the government's resolve to root out terrorism, the prime minister also appreciated sacrifices rendered by the armed forces and security agencies in the war on terror. Appreciating the role of President Asif Ali Zardari in parliamentary democracy, he said that he (President Zardari) had voluntarily delegated all his powers to parliament.
Dispelling the impression that development funds were being diverted to his constituency of Gujar Khan, he announced that all development funds of parliamentarians would be released soon. "For me as prime minister, there is no difference between Multan and Gujar Khan," he said. This was his first appearance in the Upper House of Parliament after taking over as the prime minister after Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani's disqualification.
Treasury members gave him a standing ovation, while parliamentary leader of all political parties went out to welcome him. Responding to a call-attention notice regarding the increase in petrol and CNG prices, adviser to the prime minister on petroleum Dr Asim Hussain said that the cabinet had decided to fix petroleum prices on weekly basis to take into account price fluctuations in the international market.
Dr Asim said that the ministry of petroleum had nothing to do with the increase in prices of petroleum products, adding that all powers in this regard rested with Ogra that "comes under the administrative control of the cabinet division". "Parliament has the power to decrease the ratio of taxes levied on petroleum products, including petroleum development levy," he said. Terming Ogra a monster, the mover of the notice opined that either it should be abolished or placed under the ministry. He also said that the new formula should be abandoned. The prime minister condemned the attack on a rights activist Malala Yousafzai who campaigned for girls' education in Swat.