President speaks on ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Saath’
ISLAMABAD: The government has no plan to call out the Army, impose a state of emergency or delay general elections, declared President General Pervez Musharraf in an interview to the Geo television’s programme ‘Aaj Kamran Kay Saath’ here Monday.
He said the next general elections would be held according to schedule after assemblies complete their term. He said the Army will not be used as there was no such situation. He said reports about imposing a state of emergency are baseless and concocted.
Musharraf said the issue of reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was being tackled through legal and constitutional means and has been referred to the Supreme Judicial Council.
He said complete legal norms and formalities were followed while sending the reference to the SJC. He said there have been complaints against Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and some of these complaints were also received by him.
The president said it was totally wrong that reference against the chief justice was filed in retaliation against his actions on the “missing persons” or was related to any other suo motu action.
The president said he supported and appreciated various suo motu actions taken by superior courts to provide justice to the families of ‘missing persons’, and victims of rape and other injustices.
President Musharraf said the issue of ‘missing persons’ is very important and he appreciated the action taken by the judiciary on the issue. He said it was the hallmark of the present government not to politically victimise their opponents as had been done by various governments in the past.
He said, “I do not indulge in such things.” Referring to media reports of his calling the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and keeping him in the Army House for five hours, the president explained that these reports were based on misperception and lack of information.
He said, “the chief justice came to see me on his own will.” He said, “The chief justice also came to see me three weeks ago and expressed concern that some people are talking against him (chief justice) and asked for my assistance.”
Musharraf said complaints against the Chief Justice were being received by him, Prime Minister Secretariat and Ministry of Law, which started preparations for a reference against him. Referring to his meeting with the chief justice onMarch 9, the president said the chief justice came to President’s camp office in Rawalpindi on his own request and not the Army House as reported in a section of the media.
He said the camp office is used by the president and not the chief of army staff and was earlier also used by former Presidents Zia ul Haq, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and others. The president said they discussed the complaints against him (chief justice). Later Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also joined them at the Camp Office and was present in the meeting.
He said he did not have any personal differences with the chief justice adding, “I have to fulfil legal and constitutional requirements, as I am duty bound to take action on the reference.” The President said the discussion with the chief justice lasted for two hours during which he was explained about all the complaints.
He said after two hours meeting, he and the prime minister went for Juma prayers after handing over the papers to the chief justice, consisting of complaints against him so that he (chief justice) could read them as they were directly related to him.
Missing persons: Referring to the issue missing persons, the president said, he personally enquired into the incidents of missing persons and found that many of them had been led astray by extremist organizations and gone on their own will to participate in Jihad.
He said some of the organizations, claiming to be champions of Islam, had instigated these poor people and were preparing them for acts of extremism such as suicide bombings.
Freedom of press: The president said, “I am a strong believer in freedom of press, freedom of speech and essence of democracy”, but media has the responsibilities to use the press freedom with due care and responsibility.
He said the media should not misuse the freedom of press and asked journalists to present their reports with responsibility.
He said more than 50 television channels have been working in the private sector due to liberty given by the government.
About the regulatory authorities, the president said the government constituted independent regulatory authorities like Pemra, Nepra, PAT etc to take action independently to regulate the affairs, which is an international practice.
He said, “I do not interfere in the affairs of regulations by these independent and autonomous regulatory bodies.” Attack of The News-Geo offices: Referring to the police action on The News-Geo offices in Islamabad, the president said investigations were underway. He said it was an unfortunate incident.
The president appreciated the efforts of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani who deserved the credit for taking a courageous action by immediately reaching The News-Geo offices.
He said all police officials involved in this incident have been suspended. He, however, said the Inspector leading the action, has mysteriously disappeared. Replying to a question that the event of police attack on The News-Geo offices is a conspiracy against the government and Pakistan, the president said it was being investigated.
Elections: About the issue of uniform, the president said he would not violate the constitution and follow it in letter and spirit. The president said 2007 is the year of election, and assured that the next general elections would be held in fair, free and impartial manner.
He said the next elections are directly related to future of the country as Pakistan has been facing internal and external challenges. He urged the people to vote for the moderate forces and reject the extremist elements to ensure bright and prosperous future.
The president said all the parties would be allowed to participate in the next elections. War on terrorism: About the visit of American leaders including Vice President Dick Chenny to Pakistan to put pressure for doing more in the war against terrorism, the president said all the US leaders including Vice President Chenny visited Pakistan for “fact finding mission” and not giving any threat to Pakistan.
He said there were some negative perceptions in the world, and the visit of the American leaders was to get factual position. Commenting on Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism, President Musharraf said Pakistan took the decision in its national interest. The president said, “We will not allow foreign forces coming and attacking, bombing our areas. We are very clear of the environment and I have the conviction they will understand the environment,” he said.
He said Pakistan has prepared a strategy, analysed the situation and learned lessons from the mistakes at tactical level. He said, “Our strategy is right and our analysis is right.” The president said Pakistan has been doing a lot in the war against terrorism and lost over 700 soldiers in it. He said the government has taken effective steps to stop illegal movement across Pak-Afghan border.
Musharraf said there are two opposing forces in Afghanistan, one is Afghan and the other is United Forces or Coalition Forces who are fighting against the Taliban and Al-Qaida. He said the Taliban and Al-Qaida, coming from Afghanistan, disrupted the atmosphere in Pakistan. He added that the government has been taking action against the terrorist elements.
Iran: Regarding the possibility of any military action against Iran, the president said Pakistan’s position was very clear. “We are strongly against use of force against Iran and in case of any attack, Pakistan has prepared a comprehensive strategy to defend itself.
Protest right: He said every one has the right to peaceful protest, but political elements should not be involved in these protests.He said there were over 2,500 lawyers in Rawalpindi and over 1,500 in Islamabad but only 250 to 300 lawyers gathered around the Supreme Court and similarly a few hundred lawyers out of 17,000 protested in Lahore.
While referring to incidents of disturbances and clashes between lawyers and police, he asked both the police and lawyers to show restraint. The president said he had personally intervened and was now overseeing the situation
He said there should be an even and fair coverage of these protests by the media and point of view of both sides should be projected in a balanced and objective way. He mentioned an injured policeman who is still in the hospital.
He urged the lawyer community that the reference against the Chief Justice is a legal issue and they should handle it in a legal way. He regretted that some political elements have politicised the issue and even flags of political parties were raised at the car of the chief justice when he came to the Supreme Court.
President Musharraf said there were conspiracies to destabilise him and the government as the political forces have entered in protests. He said the issue has been over hyped in the media. He said there has been some mishandling by the law enforcement personnel and others on some occasions. He expressed the hope that the media would adopt a balanced position in the coverage and present factual position through independent and balanced reports.
The president said misconduct from any side should be highlighted to give the people true and factual position. He said let the SJC continue its work and the political parties should not make it a political case. The president warned that no attempt should be made to draw political mileage from this constitutional matter.
Cricket team: Commenting on the defeat of Pakistan in the World Cricket Cup Musharraf said he regretted the bad performance of the Pakistani cricket team. He said although he was fond of cricket, it is for the first time that he was not watching the cricket matches.
He said the performance of the cricket team needed to be analysed adding that he was as dejected and disappointed, as the whole nation, on the performance of the cricket team. The president said there was a need to review in detail the reasons for the failure of the cricket team.
On the death of coach of Pakistan’s cricket team Bob Woolmer, the president said he was committed, hard-working and a dedicated cricketer. He said he was a good human being and he (Musharraf) was very fond of him.
He expressed heartfelt condolences over the tragic death of Bob Woolmer. He said Bob Woolmer had promoted the cause and game of cricket in Pakistan with dedication and single mindedness. The president said his services in the field of cricket will be long remembered by cricket fans.
Source: The News
Date:3/20/2007
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