Maiden cabinet meeting,<\/p>\n
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday acknowledged that the interim set-up did not have a \u201cperpetual mandate\u201d to serve the nation but vowed to do the same nonetheless.<\/p>\n
He made the remarks while addressing the maiden meeting of the newly inducted interim cabinet. PM Kakar has installed a 24-member cabinet comprising politicians, TV artists and anchors, retired bureaucrats and servicemen, and one that is apparently dominated by the nominees of PML-N and PPP.<\/p>\n
Addressing the cabinet meeting, Kakar began by praising the interim cabinet, saying that he was \u201cproud\u201d to have \u201cone of the best teams\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hopeful that Almighty Allah would enable us to lead and steer this nation in this interim period. I am very well aware that we are here for an allocated time. We do not have a perpetual mandate to serve this nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
PM Kakar said the caretaker set-up will try to lay foundations in order to have continuation of national and international commitments made by previous governments. \u201cAnd in continuation of that, we will try to support new initiatives, whatever the law and Constitution allow us to do,\u201d the premier said, specifically mentioning the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).<\/p>\n
PM Kakar termed the council \u201ca dream come true\u201d. He said that when he was growing up, it was always stated that Pakistan was an agricultural country with rich mineral resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cHailing from Balochistan, we would take a lot of pride in our natural and mineral resources. But we never knew what those mineral resources were. But the day has arrived, with the support of all institutions \u2014 in which the Pakistan military is in the lead \u2014 to support, facilitate, encourage and realise this old national dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that he personally believed that that this idea was not one of a particular institution. He further said that an institution \u201cmay be in the lead role\u201d but the dream was \u201ccollectively owned\u201d by the people of this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we all own it, we all support it and we will all contribute jointly towards it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting the polarisation in society, Kakar said that the interim government would try to differentiate between politics and law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a rule of law and there is a rule of order. We will ensure that rule of order is not compromised in any way. Rule of order would ensure and lead us to rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further said that there was no room for chaos or anarchy in any governance system, secular system or religious theocratic system. \u201cSo we know the sanctity of the order. That would be kept at any cost. Pakistan is shared by all ethnicities, creed and religious backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referencing Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah\u2019s speech on August 11, 1947, PM Kakar said that it was a projection of the idea that rights would not be prescribed on the basis of identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many dreams around the globe but let\u2019s start having the vision of a Pakistani dream. And let\u2019s realise this Pakistani dream. The Pakistani dream is the dream of our soul. It is imbibed by the ideas of the enlightened Iqbal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would strongly discourage rigidity in any form in this society. We do not stand for the forces of darkness. Rigidity may come in the garb of religion or secularism or any other form. These extreme attitudes, they are not just unwelcome, they will be discouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that while Pakistan\u2019s economic challenges were considerable, the caretaker government would try to ensure financial discipline. \u201cWe have a sense of sanctity of taxpayers\u2019 money, on which we are having this meeting and consuming this water and tea.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that the people of the country paid taxes so that the government could deliver and provide a secure environment for them. \u201cSo that utmost duty \u2014 maybe it is for a month, two, three or whatever the allocated time is \u2014 we will demonstrate not through our words but through our actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The premier said that minorities would \u201cstay protected\u201d. He said that there may be an attempt to harm minorities in the country by \u201cmarginalised and peripheral\u201d groups but the state and society would respond to this \u201csternly and strictly\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistani state and society does not align and and identify with such elements. They may be from us but they are divorced from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further said that the majority had to protect the minority, adding that the latter\u2019s basic dignity, security and sustenance had to be ensured.<\/p>\n
Talking about the events of May 9 at the tail-end of speech, Kakar expressed his \u201cdiscomfort and disappointment\u201d.<\/p>\n
Drawing an analogy with how AIDS laid waste to a person\u2019s immune system, the premier said, \u201cFor any polity, if its immune system is attacked, it leads to its fatality. And in our context, these emblems, these symbols are important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese state symbols when they are attacked, the state does not disappear or vanish in a day or two or a week. It\u2019s a process and the initiation of that process, or an attempt at least to do so, was exhibited on May 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe not just condemn it, now we are in the role to ensure that justice is being done and whosoever violated the laws on those days will be treated by those laws. There won\u2019t be any favour, there won\u2019t be any fear. We will try to implement with justice and neutrality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maiden cabinet meeting, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday acknowledged that the interim set-up did not have a \u201cperpetual mandate\u201d to serve the nation but vowed to do the same nonetheless. He made the remarks while addressing the maiden meeting of the newly inducted interim cabinet. PM Kakar has installed a 24-member cabinet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n