Interim govt to cooperate with ECP to hold fair elections: information minister

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Friday that the cabinet will support and cooperate with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold free and fair elections. Earlier in the day, the maiden meeting of the caretaker cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. Addressing the media following the meeting, Solangi said he had met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja regarding the elections. According to Solangi, Kakar said on election day, he and his cabinet will be the first ones to cast their votes. Answering a question, the information minister said it was the responsibility of the ECP to hold elections whether it did in 90 days or not, adding that it was the caretaker setup’s responsibility to help the commission. Regarding Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said the caretaker PM believes Kashmir is a “core problem”, which cannot be ignored “as it lies in our souls and for us Kashmir is eternal”. Earlier, in his address to the cabinet, Kakar had said that the interim set-up will try to ensure financial discipline. “We have a sense of sanctity of taxpayers’ money, on which we are having this meeting and consuming this water and tea.” Kakar further said that the people of the country paid taxes so that the government could deliver and provide a secure environment for them.