Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi has said that it is in the interest of all political forces and the country that elections should be held on February 8.
He expressed these views at the 7th edition of Afkar Tazah-Think Fest 2024 session titled “Facing the Popular Will: Election 2024” here at Al Hamra on Sunday. Former senator Afrasiab Khattak, senior journalist Hamid Mir and a large number of youths were also present. The programme was hosted by analyst Tamkinat Karim. Responding to questions by the participants, he said, “Actually the working class of Pakistan does not have a level playing field. Political instability and economic survival of the country are our real challenges and we need to improve the economic situation.” He mentioned that in the preamble to the Constitution of Pakistan, it was written that the country would be run by its elected representatives. “This country can run only in the presence of the Constitution. It is in the interest of all political forces and parties that the elections should be held on February 8, and it is for the good of the country,” he said and added that the elections would be held on the announced date. To a question about the level playing field, the federal Information Minister said that everyone was complaining about it. “The Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) also have complaints about it, while Maulana Fazlur Rehman said there is no level playing field in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Actually, the working class of Pakistan does not have a level playing field, unless there is a fundamental change,” he added. To yesterdays court decision, he said that it was a good precedent and every political party should give its members the right to vote, adding that it would have been better if there were legal experts in the panel discussion and they would have explained the legal position. In response to another question, the federal minister said that political instability and economic survival of the country are our real challenges. “The future government may face economic challenges. There is a need to improve the economic situation, if the principal amount of our overall budget goes to foreign debt servicing and other payments, it becomes difficult to run the country. A quarter of the country’s GDP comes from agriculture, but the tax collection from this sector is very low, while the country’s population is increasing rapidly, which is putting extra pressure on sectors like health and education, while we are also facing the problem of climate change,” he maintained. He stressed the need for improving relations with neighboring countries, without which the country cannot become economically strong. To a query about the protesters from Balochistan, who are present in Islamabad, Murtaza Solangi said that they had been offered space in F-9 Park and H-9 sector of Islamabad but they insisted on going to D-Chowk.
