PM says ready to host grand political dialogue on national issues
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday said he was ready to host a grand political dialogue to discuss and reach consensus on the ways and means to tackle various challenges being faced by the country.
"Democracy is a process. There come some hindrances. For example, a national economic agenda, which should be above politics and should continue even after the change of any government.There are also some basic problems in NAB law," the Prime Minister said in an interview with a private television channel (Express News) aired on Wednesday night.
He, however, clarified that such dialogue would be "a political dialogue" of all political parties and not a governmental dialogue. "If my party considers it appropriate, I am ready to host this dialogue," he added.
The Prime Minister described the current NAB law as a "black law" and said there was a need to change it through a grand political dialogue.
He said the NAB law was introduced by General Musharraf - a dictator - to check some politicians.
The Prime Minister said the current NAB law was perhaps the only law in the world under which the accused have to prove them innocent, adding, the law of evidence should be included in the NAB law.
To a question about the appointment of new Chairman NAB, he said, consultation process in this respect was underway.
To a question about civil-military relations vis a vis the latest statement of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, the Prime Minister said he did not see any "state within a state".
He, however, added that as far as the issue of deployment of Rangers at the Accountability Court was concerned, there should be an in-depth investigation.
About the election of former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif as the President of PML-N, Prime Minister Abbasi said the party leaders and workers wanted him (Nawaz Sharif) to continue to lead the party.
To a question, the Prime Minister rejected the view that Elections Bill 2017 was passed in a haste and maintained that the Bill before its passage was discussed in detail for months in the committees and sub-committees of the National Assembly and Senate.
