Allied forces’ modern equipment left in Afghanistan now in militant hands: PM

Can’t go beyond our constitutional mandate:  Kakar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister claimed that US military equipment left behind during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan has fallen into militant hands,

The equipment — which includes a wide variety of items, from night vision goggles to firearms — is now “emerging as a new challenge” for Islamabad Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq Kakar said while speaking to foreign journalists.

He said there was a need to adopt a “coordinated approach” to tackling the challenge of the leftover equipment. Kakar further said that the Pak-Afghan ties are deeply rooted in cultural and faith-based linkages as well as social integration.

“Pakistan showed magnanimity to the Afghan refugees and the government is coming up with a policy to address the challenge of illegal immigrants,” he added.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has said that his interim government cannot go beyond its constitutional mandate, hoping that the Election Commission of Pakistan will complete the process of constituencies’ delimitations in proper time,

The caretaker premier expressed these views while interacting with foreign media representatives in Islamabad on Tuesday.

“We cannot go beyond our constitutional mandate. We can make short-term reforms, the future of which will be decided by the next elected government,” he maintained.

PM Kakar was of the view that under the constitution, fresh demarcation of the constituencies was necessary after the new census. We hope that the Election Commission will complete the process well within the stipulated time, he added.

Govt can’t introduce big reforms

He said that his interim government constitutionally could not introduce big changes in the system of governance, its primary constitutional responsibility was to provide assistance for holding polls in the country.

The caretaker premier said that his government was running the economic and financial affairs while remaining within the scope.

He said that it’s the parliament’s job to allocate the budget for all sectors. He said that his government’s priority was to advance the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) initiative under which foreign investment would be brought in the agriculture, mining, and minerals sectors.

FBR, energy sectors need reforms

Kakar underlined the need to bring about structural reforms in the country. He mentioned two sectors i.e. FBR and energy, where reforms were necessary.

He further informed that privatization of some power distribution companies was on the cards.

Vows level playing field for all parties in election

On the issue of providing a level playing field to all political parties in the forthcoming general elections, Kakar held that all registered political parties in Pakistan had the freedom to participate in the election process.

Civil-military leadership moving forward together

The caretaker premier said that the civil-military leadership was moving forward together. An example of the best civil-military coordination was seen in Batagram, he maintained.