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Friday, November 20, 2009, Zil`Hajj 02, 1430

NRO relief to PM’s spouse
I will resign if proved: Gilani

Sharafat Kazmi

Islamabad—Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said he himself did not get any relief under the NRO and if proved that his spouse took relief under the ordinance, he will tender his resignation from the office.

The Prime Minister issued this challenge while speaking to the media when he was distributing green journalism awards at the PM Secretariat here Thursday.

He said he was sent to the jail in a case to provide jobs when he was Speaker of the National Assembly but he never liked to get relief through NRO and faced the trial under the law of the land.

About the NRO, the Prime Minister said the government did not table it in the Parliament keeping in view the sense of the Parliamentarians. He said he had asked the Law Ministry to present the list of the beneficiaries of the NRO before the Parliament but they did not do and they will be asked in this regard. He said however the Ministry presented a list of the beneficiaries to him last night in which name of his spouse has also been included that was a surprise for him as his wife nor his any family member took any relief from NRO.

He said that a list of NRO beneficiaries has appeared in some newspapers where his wife’s name was mentioned.

Gilani strongly rejected the story and said that if any such information is found, he will resign from his office. He added that he himself did not benefit from the NRO either.

He also said that the media should double check their facts before printing a story.

Prime Minister has reaffirmed the government’s resolve to completely root out the menace of extremism and terrorism.

He said Pakistan is not fighting anyone’s but its own war for peace and security.

He said Pakistan is utilizing all its resources to fight the terrorists and now it is the responsibility of the international community to come forward and help build the capacity of our law enforcement agencies.

Answering a question, regarding President Obama’s letter to the President to do more in the war on terrorism, the Prime Minister said it is for America now to do more in overcoming the menace of terrorism.

Responding to a question, the Prime Minister said the government has chalked out a policy for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected areas of South Waziristan on the pattern of Malakand Division.

He said before the launch of Malakand operation, the government without waiting for foreign assistance had allocated fifty billion rupees for the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected area.

He said contrary to the expectations of the people, we succeeded to send back the IDPs from Malakand to their homes.

He said the government has achieved great success in the operation against terrorists in South Waziristan and Armed forces has taken over many strongholds of the extremists besides seizing their arms and ammunition.

The Prime Minister said most of the commanders of the militants have either been killed or forced to run. He said that tribesmen of the South Waziristan are patriortic and only a handful of elements, mainly foreigners are engaged in terror related activities, but they would not be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs.

Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the IDPs from South Waziristan are fully being looked after and cash grant of five thousand rupees are being given to per family every month. He said twenty five thousand rupees will also be given to them on their return to their homes.

He said the government has received the damage need assessment report and we are expected to receive about 1.2 billion dollars as a assistance for reconstruction of affected areas.

The Prime Minister said that the government has allocated twenty five billion rupees for the capacity building of law enforcement agencies to enable them to assume their responsibilities effectively in the wake of the operation. He said out of the total allocation, six billion rupees have already been released to the NWFP government.

To a question regarding corruption, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government has great concerns over the matter and a committee has been constituted under the head of the Finance Minister to look into the matter for its elimination. He said the corruption did not surface in one day but it dates back to decades.

About Gilgit-Baltistan elections, the Prime Minister said the PPP government has given them their rights through self governance and internal political and economic autonomy.

Answering a question regarding provision of evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan and terror activities, the Prime Minister said sometimes does not matter keeping in view the situation. However, he said these evidences would be provided at an appropriate time whenever needed.

Regarding “Aghaz Haqooq Balochistan package”, the Prime Minister said this has been prepared after taking all political parties present in the parliament and it will be presented in the joint sitting of the Parliament. He said the government intends to give legal cover to this package and the members of the smaller provinces will have equal opportunity in the joint sitting to give their suggestions and provide legal cover to it. He, however, said the leadership of the political parties who have links with the Baloch leaders sitting outside the Parliament have been asked to get their inputs on the package to make it more viable.

Earlier, addressing the Green Journalist Award ceremony Gilani said the government is making concerted efforts to remove hazards for ensuring a pollution free environment in the country.

He said the seriousness of the government is evident from the fact that the government has announced for the first time clean drinking water policy besides taking a number of steps to improve environment.

He said Pakistan faces enormous environmental challenges and environmental degradation costs the national exchequer 365 billion rupees every year which means that we lose one billion rupees every day only due to environmental problems.

The Prime Minister said that although the government has taken various measures for improvement of environment but it alone can not overcome all these problems without active participation of all segments of the society, especially the media. He said it is matter of satisfaction that Pakistan has improved its position regarding sanitation in the region, however a lot needs to do be done in the sector to ensure a pollution free environment.

He said enhancing forest covered area is an enormous challenge as air pollution level in our country is four to five times higher than the WHO prescribed standards and it is obligation of each citizen to work for achieving the goal.

The Prime Minister said the government has chalked out a policy to provide clean drinking water to each citizen. Therefore a special initiative has been launched under which water filtration plants will be installed at the union council level.
 

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