Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that the Senate elections would be held according to schedule in March and if those were stopped through undemocratic means, it would have negative effect on the country.
Responding to callers from across the country in a live PTV''s Prime Minister Online programme, the prime minister said all political activities were due to the Senate elections and conspiracies were being hatched to stop them.
He said that every one knew that the Pakistan People''s Party (PPP) would attain majority in the Senate elections. He told the critics that every thing should be done in accordance with the Constitution and anyone could be in power or in opposition. The prime minister said it was the task of Information Ministry to highlight achievements of the government and the PPP government had a lot of achievements to show to the people.
He said due to global economic recession, Pakistan was also affected like other countries of the world and many companies were given bail-outs. He said despite all odds, 3500 megawatts power were added to the national grid and added that before end of the tenure, the government would be able to avoid unscheduled load shedding.
The prime minister said a special cabinet meeting would be held tomorrow to tackle the issues of energy and gas shortage.
In winter, due to shortage of water, the power generation has been reduced, he added. The government, he said, had been working on all alternative sources of energy.
He said the policy of Independent Power Producers (IPP) was sabotaged by Saifur Rehman when there was a need for consistency in the energy policy. He underlined the need for consistency in policies and regretted that every government changed policies of the previous one. "We want to have consistent policies and the government should be given the chance to work," he added.
The prime minister said the fuel prices are a global issue. The fuel prices at international level are adjusted in the local market and the government does not want to continue the system of subsidies, he continued. The prime minister said the government was making efforts to control the price hike.
Referring to corruption charges on the government, he said that every political government in the past was removed on charges of corruption.
He said after the corruption charges, the dictators came to power. He said Mian Nawaz Sharif should know that if there was corruption charges against the government he (Nawaz) would not get the power. Replying to a question about education system, the prime minister said after 18th Amendment, health and education have become provincial subjects.
He said the Council of Common Interests was the highest forum to discuss the issues like system of education and all the provinces attended its meeting and agreed to have uniform policy for education.
The prime minister said all the chief ministers will be asked that for national interest and cohesion, there should be a unified education system in all the provinces in accordance with the decisions of CCI. Answering another question about Saraiki province, the prime minister said it was recognition of the PPP that it selected the Prime Minister from the Saraiki area.
He said the government will adopt constitutional ways in the National Assembly and Senate and approve the demand of the Saraiki people. To another question, the prime minister said it was the policy of party that those who had been victimised in the previous government, should be reinstated and regularised.
About war on terrorism, the prime minister said terrorism and extremism were a global phenomenon and a threat to the whole world. He said the government had succeeded in motivating the public to stay united against terrorism as it was harmful to the national interest.
He said the government successfully established its writ in Swat and Malakand through war against terror and 2.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) went back to their homes.
The prime minister said Parliamentary Committee on National Security had been preparing recommendations to review Pakistan''s relations with NATO and the United States. The committee''s recommendations would be presented in the joint session of Parliament for taking a final decision on the future policy in this regard, he added. He said that without the support of people, no war could be won.
The prime minister said the government was pursuing the policy of dialogue, development and deterrence. If the militants will denounce terrorism, then there is no harm to negotiate with them, he said, adding that the 3D policy had been appreciated at the world level.