Dar terms holding census before next elections as legal requirement

ISLAMABAD – Federal minister for finance Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said the process of appointment of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir went smooth and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif okayed the nomination of Gen Asim Munir by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

During an interview to a private news channel, he said government had plan B if president Dr Arif Alvi did not approve the summary.

Talking about Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, he said it was not possible to give an indication of his date of return adding the PML-N and its allies were desirous to see him back.

Commenting on general elections, he said general elections would be held in October 2023 adding the constitution needed to be amended to conduct elections in time.

Speaking about cheap petrol deal with Russia, he said the ban on buying cheap oil from Russia was revoked and the government would try its level best to buy oil at 30pc discount adding the price of petrol woud not be increased.

He said the country needed $16bn to put the economy back on track adding the government was meting the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He further said Saudi Arabia and China had assured financial support to Pakistan to help with economic challenges

He said that the last general elections were held on the older census and there were severe reservations on it by several parties including the government’s ally the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Baluchistan government. Therefore, he said that it would be impossible to hold the next elections without fresh census on which everyone agrees. If anything else has to be done, there would then need to be an amendment in the constitution.

On meeting President Dr Arif Alvi, Dar clarified that he had been summoned by the presidency to give a briefing on the current state of the economy. “It was the president, that is a constitutional position, and I had to go,” Dar said, adding that he had informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before going. On talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dar said that they were ready to hold the review meeting with the global lender but the matter was facing delays. He explained that IMF was seeking projections for the rest of the fiscal year as well. He said that all the requisite information is ready.On the possibility that the review could be delayed into the new year due to the Christmas break in the west, he said that then there could be a possibility to hold a combined ninth and tenth review together. “That is not unheard of and has happened in the past as well,” he said, adding that they have also reached out to friendly countries for help.

On lowering fuel prices, Dar said that they were looking to secure cheaper fuel from Russia. He added that during his meetings in Washington, no one had raised the matter that Pakistan should not buy oil from Russia.Dar said that they hope to secure oil at around 30% discount from Russia.He added that if for some reason, they are not able to decrease the price of petroleum products, they will try to not raise it further either.

Dar said that during the appointment of the army chief, they had to create a strategy based on the statements from PTI Chairman Imran Khan of stalling the process. Given that Gen Asim Munir was originally due to retire on November 27 while his predecessor did not retire a few days later until November 29, it would have disqualified Gen Munir from being appointed. IN that scenario, he said, the government was hoping Dr Alvi would approve the summary forthwith.In this regard, he said that they had a plan-A and a plan-B – which would be to invoke certain clauses in the Army Act to extend his term of service. Fortunately, he said that President Alvi did not wage politics on COAS summary, and the appointment of big slot was completed without any hiccups.

In response to a question, he said that even Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was on board with Gen Munir’s selection.Dar assured that new army chief is a professional soldier and they firmly believe that he will make the institution and the system functional and professional. He said that if everyone plays their due role, the country’s would flourish. On the actions of former chief of army staff General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Dar said that what ever happened in the past is the past. “Now, he is retired.”

Asked what had happened with Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and how he decided to support Imran Khan despite the fact that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had decided to back the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition, Dar said that it was a shock for him as well.Asked if the former army chief had played his hand in the matter, Dar said that some ‘other’ friends had called Elahi instead of General (retired) Bajwa.

Dar said PML-N supporters and activists wanted Nawaz Sharif to return. However, he admitted that it was difficult to give timeframe for the deposed prime minister’s return.On talks with Imran, Dar said that the government cannot hold talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on their dictation.