The speakers at a seminar on Thursday stressed the need for political and economic stability in the country which would be the main challenge for the newly elected government.
They were addressing the seminar on “General elections 2024, Challenges for the new government and the road map”, organized by the Press Information Department.
Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, Principal Information Officer Tariq Mehmood Khan, and others were the main speakers of the 4th seminar of the series. The PID has already organized three seminars in the Federal Capital while the 5th and last one will be held in Lahore before the general elections.
Addressing the seminar, the Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said the caretaker government was fully prepared and committed to conducting general elections on February 8.
The minister, in his speech, said that as the government’s spokesperson, he had been reiterating the caretaker government’s commitment to holding elections as per the schedule given by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
“The election process should continue in any case and major issues facing the country, including economy, foreign policy, local governments, governance, and civil service reforms, should also be discussed to find their solution,” he remarked.
Senior journalist Mehmood Sham said that there were several challenges ahead that must be dealt with collective wisdom. Such seminars should have been organized much before the elections, he added.
He said he was the witness to almost all the elections held in the country, including those held in 1970. He stressed the need of political dialogue to get the country back on the right track.
Senior journalist Mazhar Abass said the doubts of people about holding elections on the scheduled date and their credibility must be addressed. “There is a need to give all political parties an equal space,” he stressed.
Senior journalist Aamir Zia praised the efforts of Press Information Department for organizing such seminars. He stressed that elections must not to be controversial like the ones held in 2018. In order to get the country out of the crises, all political forces should be given a level playing field, he urged.
He also criticized the political parties for failing to give concrete manifestos. All the manifestos announced were mere political slogans, he added, stressing that the parties should better announce their plans how to get country out the problems being faced by it for decades.
Senior journalist Agha Masood Hassan said there was need of creating political consensus as without it Pakistan could not move forward on the path of prosperity.
He said the people should come forward to improve the governance system so that political and economic stability could be achieved which was vital for the country’s survival.
Professor Tauseef Ahmed, Sohail Sangi, Advocate Yousaf Maulvi, Nadia Naqi, Dr. Huma Baqai, Saeed Sarbazi and Shehrbano also addressed the seminar.
PIO Tariq Mehmood Khan presented welcome speech while Director General PID Karachi Iram Tanveer thanked the guests and the participants of the seminar.
Later, Director General PID Karachi Ms. Iram Tanveer presented a shield to the Information Minister and PIO. The minister and PIO also presented shields to the guests.
