The interim prime minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, stated on Monday that all major political parties would be allowed to run in the next elections unless they were prohibited from doing so by law.
At a press conference called to update the media on his recent trip to China and discuss urgent political events in the country, he made this statement.
The interim prime minister’s announcement follows a series of police raids on the houses of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) officials in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which resulted in the arrests of former provincial ministers Kamran Bangash and Anwar Zaib Khan. In Lahore, PTI leaders were also the target of raids.
Assuring that the election date would soon be announced, a responsibility he had previously emphasised would fall under the purview of the Election Commission of Pakistan, the prime minister emphasised the significance of ensuring that the electoral process runs smoothly and fairly.
On the economic front, the premier brought up the recent depreciation of the US dollar and promised to continue talking to provincial premiers about how to make this change work for regular people by lowering prices for necessities like food and transportation.
During his recent trip to China, Kakar met with high-ranking officials like Chinese President Xi Jinping and participated in the Belt and Road Forum, both of which he discussed in depth. The Belt and Road Initiative, infrastructure, mining, industry, green and low-carbon development, health, space cooperation, digital economy, development cooperation, and agricultural product exports to China were only some of the topics covered in the 20 MOUs inked.
These memorandums of understanding are seen as a major milestone in Pakistan and China’s partnership, and they are expected to increase collaboration in a wide range of areas, with an emphasis on implementation after careful planning and evaluation.
To protect the country’s honour, Prime Minister Kakar hoped the incoming administration will continue the current positive trajectory of relations with China.
The prime minister met with the presidents of Russia, Sri Lanka, and Kenya in addition to his discussions with his Chinese counterparts. The murder inquiry of Pakistani news man Arshad Sharif was one topic he brought up with these officials.
Kakar mentioned that humanitarian aid had arrived in Egypt and will soon be distributed to the Palestinian people in Gaza. He emphasised the need of ending the fighting and highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to bring the warring parties together, including co-hosting a ministerial conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah.
The prime minister also highlighted the enormous untapped potential for storytelling, documentary, and media content production between Pakistani and Chinese media.
