Kakar says interim setup will lay 'foundation of continuation'

Addressing the newly sworn in caretaker cabinet in his maiden address on Friday, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said the cabinet while not having a perpetual mandate "will try to lay some foundation where we have a sense of continuation of national and international commitments." Kakar added that the cabinet will try to support new initiatives within the bounds of the law and Constitution.  "I am hopeful that Almighty Allah would enable us to lead and steer this nation in this interim period," he said. The newly inducted cabinet was sworn in yesterday, and is tasked with running the country until fresh elections - which might be delayed beyond November as constituency boundaries were set to be redrawn. The caretaker set-up, which has come on the heels of abject political instability, is closely being watched for its agenda and wavelength. Addressing the cabinet today, the caretaker PM also added a stern warning to any possible play between law and politics. Read A cabinet fit for purpose “I know it is a polarized society and in this polarized environment we will try to differentiate between politics and law. There is a law and there is a rule of order. We would ensure that rule of order is not compromised in any way. Rule of order would ensure and lead to rule of law,” he said. In the same breath he added that “if there is chaos and anarchy then no government system, no secular or religious theocratic system could exist. So we know the sanctity of order and that would be kept at any cost”. In a nod to the country’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his famous speech of August 11, 1947, Kakar said there would be “no identity-based rights” be prescribed. “Rights,” he said, “will not be given to people on the basis of nouns, but rather on adjective, on the basis of conduct, character and behavior.” He called upon the nation to start envisioning a “Pakistani dream” and to start working towards realising it. “We would strongly discourage rigidity be it any form in this society. We do not stand for the forces of darkness,” he stressed. “Extreme attitudes” which he said included “secularism” and “religious” ones, would not only be “unwelcome, but would be discouraged. They would be curbed and controlled by the law.” He also said that his able team would work towards countering the “huge” economic challenges it faces through “financial discipline” and have a “sense of sanctity of the taxpayers’ money”.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/oyN4zcd