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Terrorism, extremism on top of list of challenges: Gillani

ISLAMABAD: Placing terrorism and extremism on top of the list of challenges that his government had to tackle immediately, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani on Saturday offered talks with militants “willing to give up arms” and announced the revoking of a special colonial era law seen as contributing to the backwardness and alienation of the frontier tribal region, making it a fertile breeding ground of militancy.

Unveiling the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government’s programme in the National Assembly shortly after historically earning a unanimous vote of confidence from the House, Mr. Gillani’s announcement on the Frontier Crimes Regulation (1901) was by far seen as his most significant.

“The war against terror is our own war,” he said, “but the government is willing to open talks with all those who are willing to give up arms and embrace the path of peace.”

The Prime Minister also pledged a package of measures for the development of the tribal regions and for providing employment and educational opportunities to the region.

Mr. Gillani also announced the setting up of a Madrassa Welfare Authority that would audit the accounts of all madrassas in the country, and would also have the responsibility of ensuring uniformity in the madrassa curriculum.

In another significant move, he asked the Pakistan Army to expedite its decision to withdraw all serving officers from civilian postings within the next two weeks.

“The right to govern belongs to none other than the people of Pakistan,” Mr. Gillani, who held meetings with the Army and Navy Chiefs on Friday, said.

Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Army Chief, had already announced a decision in this regard earlier this year, and on Saturday, the Daily Times reported that the Army had recalled 72 officers who would be reverting back to their units by May 1, while 46 more officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and sepoys would be revert back by mid-August.

Shortly after Mr. Gillani’s statement in the National Assembly, the Inter-Services Public Relations of the Pakistan Military issued a statement that while orders had already been issued for serving Army officers to revert back from their civilian posting, reversion orders for 407 JCOs and 1210 NCOs and jawans from civil departments had also been issued.

The other important announcement from the Prime Minister was the pledge to abolish the concurrent list within a year in order to devolve more power to the provinces and strengthen the federation.

“Some of the major concerns have been dealt with. It’s not reasonable to expect a complete blueprint immediately, but something like finishing the concurrent list, that’s a big ticket item,” said Hina Rabbani Khar, a National Assembly member who quit the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) to join the PPP just before the elections. “Eventually the government has to prove itself by walking the talk because it has given itself a time-bound deadline.”

In a move that is likely to earn the government some public goodwill, Mr. Gillani also announced a series of austerity measures for the new government, including a 40 per cent cut in the Prime Minister’s budget, restricting Cabinet members to vehicles of not more than 1600 cc, and abolishing business class travel for Ministers.

But journalists pronounced dissatisfaction with the new government’s media policy. Mr. Gillani announced that the infamous Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) would be brought under the Information Ministry.

Mazhar Abbas of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said it was the media’s expectation that PEMRA would be abolished altogether, and a new independent self-regulatory mechanism would be set up and run by media organizations themselves.

“The new government has obviously been persuaded that the media should not be allowed complete freedom,” Mr. Abbas said.

Earlier, the House unanimously backed a resolution moved by the PPP for a vote of confidence in the new Prime Minister. Opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), supported the resolution, making a division or even a count of the members unnecessary.

This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that this has happened and it was hailed by most as a good omen for democracy to take root in Pakistan.

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