Updated on
Summary
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday ruled out the division of Punjab into further provinces and said the country could not afford such venture at the present challenging times. Talking to mediapersons after presiding a convocation at a girls college here, the Prime Minister said, We cannot afford to have more provinces. It would be like opening up a pandoras box.The Prime Minister said the country was passing through difficult internal and external challenges and urged the politicians not to invoke such ideas by realizing the gravity of situation.He said the formation of further provinces required constitutional amendment, which does not seem possible as the political parties were not united at the moment.It is the responsibility of the government and everyone to strengthen the federation and not to destabilize it, he said.About his possible meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the upcoming summit of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, this month the Prime Minister hoped that the outcome would be positive.He said the meeting would be an opportunity to strengthen the relations between two countries.He said Pakistan wanted to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours including India and Afghanistan.About the ongoing operation in Malakand division, Gilani said the success achieved in securing the area from terrorists was a result of enormous sacrifices laid by the Pakistan army.We did not secure the area for free. It was due to our jawans who were martyred while fighting bravely, he said.Gilani said after the completion of the operation, military cantonments would be established and capacity-building of law enforcement agencies would be enhanced.When asked to confirm reports regarding Fazlullahs injury in an attack, the Prime Minister said it was Interior Ministers domain to issue statement on it.When asked about possible influx of Taliban into Pakistan territory after US forces operation in Afghanistans Helmand province, the Prime Minister said the government would take all possible measures not to let anyone destablize the country.Accompanying the Prime Minister, State Minister for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar clarified a news report regarding the implementation of Carbon surcharge after the approval of Prime Minister.She said the Carbon surcharge was a part of Finance Bill and its implementation was an automatic process after cabinets passage of the budget, which has nothing to do with the Prime Ministers directives.
