LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here on Tuesday that an official working in the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on deputation couldn’t dictate the government to give record of Prime Minister’s House.
“The ANF is an institution of the federal government that works under a ministry headed by a minister as well as a secretary and director general. How an official working purely on a deputation basis in a department of the federal government can write a letter or dictate the government in this regard?”, he said while commenting on a report about a letter relating to the so-called ephedrine quota scam sent by an ANF official seeking the record of visitors to PM’s House since January 2009.
Talking to reporters after addressing the convocation of a private educational institution at the Lahore Expo Centre, he said he was the prime minister of 180 million people of the country and a subordinate of his couldn’t write a letter to PM’s House in this manner. Replying to a question, he said: “We will make the Seraiki province with consensus by involving all stakeholders, including political parties, in the process.” He said the name of the new province was not important.
Commenting on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s statement against the setting up of a ‘Seraiki bank’ in south Punjab, he said setting up banks was a subject of the federal government.
“There are many national and international banks established and working in the country under regulations of the federal government and the plan to set up the Seraiki bank cannot be stopped on the desire of anyone.”
Talking about the situation in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas, he said maintaining law and order was primarily the responsibility of provinces but the federal government couldn’t ignore its responsibilities in this regard.
Replying to a question, he said he had asked Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to sit together to resolve the issues of Siachen, Sir Creek, Kashmir and terrorism.
He said he believed that “Mr Singh also wants to resolve all issues between the two countries”.
Paying tribute to the soldiers missing after an avalanche in Siachen, the prime minister said he had called a meeting of the defence committee to get a detailed briefing on rescue work.
He said the government would take action against elements involved in the Bannu jail break.
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