Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani on Saturday said: "We are ready to talk to all political parties in the larger national interest for national reconciliation". He called for a broad-based national reconciliation to develop a better political environment in the country that would help the nation face internal and external challenges.
"Broad-based national reconciliation is not a 'political necessity' of the government. Rather, this is the 'national requirement' to sit together and evolve a strategy to hold free, fair and impartial elections, and ensure politico-economic stability," he said while talking to a group of journalists here at Multan airport on Saturday before leaving for Makhdoom Rashid to offer fateha on the demise of Mukhtar Hashmi, younger brother of Javed Hashmi.
"President Pervez Musharraf has hinted at broad-based national reconciliation which is the need of the hour. Presidential election is nearing, and this process would strengthen the democratic process, besides ensuring the continuity of policies to cement economic stability. This process would commence next month and will be completed by October," the minister said.
He said that the government had introduced a mechanism of using 'backdoor channels' to conduct dialogue for national reconciliation with opposition parties, and it was in touch with the leaders of all parliamentary political parties.
He said that the comments by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan regarding Supreme Court verdict on the Sharif family plea were his personal views. "Dr Sher Afgan's statement is his personal view. However, I was hurt when a person had publicly talked about 'burning' the apex court if its decision was against his desire. Contrary to that, the government has respected, acknowledged and implemented all decisions of the court in letter and spirit. This attitude is in contrast with the past regimes' acts, and this is the privilege of this government. Since the matter is sub judice, it would not be appropriate to comment on the issue," he said.
The minister categorically denied reports of there being any constitutional package under consideration to discontinue 'judicial activism, and said that such reports carried "no substance".
He said that Parliament, the judiciary and the executive are three pillars of the state, according to the Constitution. "The executive [branch] and Parliament are working within their constitutional limits. It is in the national and state interest that these three pillars of the state function within their respective constitutional limits, maintaining balance," he said, adding that Cabinet ministers "are free to express their views", as the government believes in freedom of expression.
"The 14th Amendment has been removed from the Constitution, and every parliamentarian is free to express his views. However, everyone should abide by party discipline on the national issues."
He sad that political reconciliation would go further in upcoming weeks and all uncertainties would gradually die down. On the question whether the government would arrest the Sharif brothers on their return, Durrani said that Nawaz Sharif had been denying for the past seven years that he had signed any agreement concerning his leaving the country, but had been proved wrong in the Supreme Court.
"I have repeatedly said that these politicians left the country happily, and they would themselves decide on their return," he said. "The government has all options 'open' to tackle the issue of the Sharif family's return. We will cross the bridge when we come to it. Let the Sharifs decide their return strategy and then the government will finalise its own. Everyone is answerable to law and all decisions would be taken according to the law of land," he added.