Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said Pakistan would not allow any country to launch military operation inside its territory. He termed the recent threats by US presidential candidates to invade Pakistan merely as part of their electioneering that is unacceptable to Islamabad.
"These statements are part of their election campaigns but I want to make it very clear that such statements were not acceptable to Pakistan," the Prime Minister told reporters after a ground-breaking ceremony of a new 10-storey secretariat block.
He was asked to comment on recent statements made by some senior US officials and presidential candidates threatening Pakistan of using military force to stem al Qaeda operatives in tribal areas. Aziz said Pakistan would never allow any troops to enter into its territory, adding it has been playing active role for US alliance against war on terror.
When asked, the PM welcomed the Supreme Court's decision of granting bail to PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. He said whenever the court takes decision it is a good omen for the country. About the upcoming elections, he replied the government and its allied parties would contest elections from one platform, as no other political party is allowed to join the existing coalition.
To a query about presidential election, Shaukat Aziz told reporters that President Musharraf would seek re-election between September 15 and October 15 according to the constitution. Earlier, addressing the participants of the ceremony, which held at Prime Minister Secretariat, he said low-cost housing facilities were being arranged across the country for government employees.
He took strong exception of the Estate Office, saying he was completely unhappy over its performance. "I am not satisfied with the Estate Office. I have given Babar Ghauri (In-charge Minister for Housing and Works) few weeks for the betterment of department's affairs," he remarked.
The Prime Minister said he was receiving a plethora of complaints from government employees against the Estate Office that were not acceptable to him. He also gave Public Works Department (PWD) a wake-up call to improve its performance.
Speaking about the construction of new secretariat block, Aziz maintained the government offices would now be built on modern lines to enhance the productivity and efficiency of the employees. He promised to modernise all the government departments.
He conceded that there was shortage of buildings for the government as well as private offices in the federal capital. About the residential facilities, the PM told the participants that he would himself inaugurate the first phase of residential flats this month. "We want to give ownership rights to government employees in which they are residing," he committed.
In his remarks, Babar Ghauri briefed the participants about the new building, saying it would be added to the existing stock of blocks in the Secretariat after a lapse of nearly 18 years since the completion of the Cabinet Block in 1990.
Moreover, he said the proposed block would be the largest block so far constructed in the Pak Secretariat. Excluding basement, it will be a 10-storey building having a covered area of 724,800 sq ft with an estimated cost of Rs 3.2 billion. The project will be immediately launched and is expected to be completed by 2010.