950820

Ghurki rules

out mid-term

elections

LAHORE: The Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Railways and President, Pakistan Peoples Party, Lahore, Khalid Javed Ghurki, has said that present government would complete its tenure and there was no justification or need for holding mid-term elections in the country.

Talking to newsmen here on Sunday, after his arrival from London where he had gone in connection with his medical treatment, the PPP stalwart said those who were talking about mid-term elections should wait for their turn and respect the mandate given to the PPP.

He said game of repeated elections should be ended, elected assemblies should be given opportunity to complete their tenure, so political stability could be achieved in the country.

Responding to a query, he welcomed the meetings of opposition leaders with the President and termed it as a good sign for democracy.

He said the opposition should have good working relationship with the government.

When asked to comment upon the news that there was some plan being hatched to form a non-Wattoo government in the province after the chief minister of Punjab, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo's departure to America, he said no such thing was being planned.

When asked who would exercise the authorities of the chief minister or replace him as acting chief minister, he said there was no room for acting chief minister in the constitution. However, he said, the senior minister would perform in place of the chief minister in his absence.

Talking about the situation in Karachi, he said it was improving with every passing day and soon Karachiites would have a sigh of relief from the wave of terrorism and oppression.

To another query that some circles had proposed local bodies election in Karachi to pace up the process of peace, he said without normalising the situation, no body could even think to hold elections there.

Earlier, Khalid Javed Ghurki was accorded a warm welcome at Lahore airport on his arrival. His elder brother, Arshad Javed Ghurki, general secretary of the PPP, Lahore, Haji Azir-ur-Rehman Channa and Secretary Information Altaf Hassan Qureshi, Sarfraz Nawaz and other PPP leaders were present to welcome him.

He was garlanded by the workers on his arrival while two chaddars were also presented to him.-PPI