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Interim government to be formed: Aziz

Islamabad: An interim government will be formed in Pakistan after the National Assembly completes its term on November 15 to conduct a free and impartial general election, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday while ruling out any political role for the army chief.

“The President, Prime Minister and army chief would continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities,” Mr. Aziz told reporters at the Prime Minister’s House after a meeting with PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and some Ministers.

“After the Assemblies complete their tenure on November 15, an interim set-up will be put in place primarily to conduct fair and free elections which we hope to win emphatically,” he said

To a question on the role to be played by the chief of army staff, a post held by President Pervez Musharraf, Mr. Aziz said he was sure the army chief “would not indulge in political activities”.

Gen. Musharraf has informed the Supreme Court he will quit as army chief following his re-election as President. The military ruler swept Saturday’s presidential poll that was boycotted by the opposition. However, he cannot be sworn in till the apex court rules on petitions challenging his candidature.

The tenure of the two Houses of Parliament and the four provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP ends on November 15 and a general election will be held within two months.

Mr. Aziz said the government considered Gen. Musharraf elected President and was now awaiting the Supreme Court’s judgment on the issue

Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships killed 48 pro-Taliban militants but lost 20 of their own men during fierce fighting in a tribal area close to the Afghan border, said a military official on Sunday.

The fighting began when militants ambushed a military convoy near Mir Ali town in North Waziristan on Saturday night.

Casualties mounted as the Army struck back and fresh clashes broke out in other areas close to Mir Ali, a town known as an Al-Qaeda haunt, and the fighting continued into Sunday evening, a military official said. Pakistan has seen a wave of violence since July. — PTI, Reuters

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