Ahmad Saeed never remained loyal to PPP: Kaira

Lahore: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday said that writing a letter to Swiss authorities was not a matter of defeat or victory, as the PPP was very much obeying the Supreme Court orders.

Briefing the media here at the residence of Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz, the Minister said that PPP had not taken a U-turn on the issue of letter, as it had never taken the stance of not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities.

The party was presenting viewpoint with the consent of its legal advisors according to the changing situation, he added. He explained that during Gilani’s tenure, the Supreme Court had not left any other option for the government, and now the PPP had avenues, as the court was listening to the federal government’s narrations after the issue was debated on the media and in legal circles. He added that earlier, Aitezaz Ahsan had also expressed his concerns that the apex court was not considering the facts but focusing
on a lower court decision.

Responding to a question, Kaira said the PPP had consulted with all the quarters concerned, which were necessary in this regard and now the matter turning towards perfection, adding that the former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani was also present in the meeting held on the issue of Swiss letter and he (Gilani) was very much consulted on the matter.

To another query, the Federal Information Minister pointed out that the Swiss letter was that letter about which the Mian Nawaz Sharif had admitted in the Sohail Warraich’s (a senior journalist) book on interviews, that they had done injustice with PPP and were forced to implicate PPP leadership in such
cases and they (Nawaz Sharif) had never contradicted this report.

While, the Swiss court had long ago also acquitted the PPP top leaders in the SGS Cotecna case, and the then Justice Malik Qayyum and another judge was sent packing after a recorded tape of the conversation between Mian Shahbaz Sharif and these judges was unearth.

To a question, Kaira said that both PPP and MQM were progressive parties and they had developed a consensus on the local government election, however, sometimes the allied parties face deadlock on some issues but they also found their solutions as well. The PPP was taking on board all its coalition partner on all issues of national importance.

The government and ANP top leadership had also made it clear that Ghulam Ahmed Bilour had made on his own the statement about $ 100,000 head money of Terry John, the producer of sacrilegious movie, he responded to a Reporter’s query.

To a question, Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Chaudhry Ahmad
Mukhtar was very much loyal to PPP and he would not part ways
with the party, adding that his brother Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed,
who recently joined PML-N, was the PIA Chairman during Musharraf
regime, when Ahmed Mukhtar was languishing in jail due to his
affiliation with the PPP.

Though PML-N had announced that it would not allow any
politician/person in its fold who was attached with Musharraf,
now it has allowed Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed and the Mushrraf regime’s
law minister into its fold, he said, asserting, “It’s a good
start (of desisting from their stance) and they (Mian Brothers)
will let more such people into their party.”

About formation of new provinces, he said that PML-N had
used this issue as a political stunt as it had demanded two
provinces- restoration of Bahawalpur province and South Punjab
province, and it was again the N-League, which demanded the
formation of Hazara province as well.

On the directive of the President, he added, the National
Assembly Speaker formed a commission, which was very seriously
looking into matters of new provinces, and more provinces would
be formed wherever needed but in accordance with the Constitutional provisions.

Kaira said that now the Punjab rulers were terming the
Punjab’s division as sheer injustice with Punjabis, thus
creating provincial hatred. If they were serious and much
concerned about the people of Punjab, they should not have
passed a resolution on new provinces in Punjab Assembly and
should not have demanded of the formation of a commission
on the subject.

The Minister said it was the PPP-led government that
had ensured maximum autonomy and resources to the provinces
to eliminate the sense of provincialism and hatred among
the provinces. Under the new NFC Award, Punjab was
taking an additional Rs 200 billion to Rs 250 billion against its
previous annual share.

The Minister said that PML-N was still practicing
the politics of ’80s and ’90s but things have changed and
the masses were now well informed and educated.