ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday expressed his government’s resolve to launch a “Jihad” against corruption in 2011 by making legislative measures, including the approval of accountability law.“It is our resolve for the new year to launch “Jihad” against corruption. I have talked to Nawaz Sharif so that we can adopt the accountability bill with consensus. And it is done in a way that nobody can raise a finger on it,” Gilani said in a television show on Saturday.He said most of the governments in the past, including the two tenures each of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as well as the JUnejo government, faced corruption charges and even were removed.“But with an active judiciary and parliament as well as a vibrant media in the country, there is a hell of difference between now and then,” he said.During the show, Gilani responded to live calls and questions from the public, which mostly related to the problems of common man and the government’s policies to tackle various challenges.
He said that PML-N had been playing the role of a responsible opposition, adding, the government would go forward having its working relationship with all the opposition parties.Regarding the appointments of officers in some departments, he said there was a procedure for such appointments.The prime minister said Fazlur Rehman remained in the coalition for three years and never had any complaint. He said the government would continue to make efforts to bring him back into the coalition fold.He said the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) had some reservations and they had conveyed the same to him and President Asif Ali Zardari during separate meetings.In response to a question about growing inflation, the PM attributed the trend to global recession, the war against terror as well as the impact of recent floods.About power outages and electricity load shedding, Gilani said if the IPPs (Independent Power Producers), which were introduced during the PPP government in 1994, were not in place there would have been even more problem today.Gilani, to a question about drone attacks, said he stood by his statement in the National Assembly that these attacks were counter-productive and creating problems for the armed forces as well as for the government. He said the issue of Balochistan was very important and after coming into power the government got released the Baloch leadership. “I assure the nation that in the new year, it is my resolve to mainly focus on Balochistan issue – Dailytimes
