This was the reason, he said, that the provinces were invited on the issue of local bodies elections for a detailed discussion during the Inter-Provincial Co-ordination meeting, which was chaired by him. "The local governments' elections were postponed in light of the recommendations of the provinces" Gilani said adding that he would submit these recommendations to the President and would also ask him to make it a provincial subject.
He said that former president Pervez Musharraf's decision to make local governments a federal subject under the sixth schedule of the Constitution was totally illegal and undemocratic. To a question about PML-N support after Presidential Ordinance on petroleum prices, he said that PML-N is a coalition partner of PPP in Punjab and he was very much hopeful that PML-N would continue supporting him.
The Prime Minister said that Parliament had approved the Finance Bill with consensus, when asked about imposition of Carbon surcharge. There is supremacy of the Parliament, he added but said he would not make any comment on the issue as the matter was sub-judice.
He admitted that the government was taking unpopular decisions but said these were taken to save the country, "We have to put the country on the right track" he said adding one could imagine how difficult it would have been for the elected people to take unpopular decisions.
Gilani said the government was faced with two challenges, law and order situation and economic issue which he said are inter related and could have adverse effects on each other. A bomb blast could lead to a capital flight, he added.
Earlier, addressing the ceremony, he said that the major difference between developing and the developed countries lies in the level of advancement in the field of science and technology. He said that the nations which invested in these areas are now economic powers and this position had not been attained overnight rather they have a history of hard work for creating a culture that promoted technical education, research and development in all sectors of their economies.
The Prime Minister said that allocation of sufficient resources is another basic requirement for development in science and technology. He said that the government is not oblivious to the funds requirement for undertaking scientific projects and would ensure that current budgetary allocation are released timely.
He said that he strongly feels a need for a forum of reputed scientists, academicians, engineers, industrialists, trade bodies, media persons etc which should have regular interaction to diagnose ailments, identify remedies, ensure proper implementation, suggest mid course corrections for the removal of unforeseen obstacles etc. The body must be able to meet regularly, under the aegis of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
He said that such a forum would ensure greater coverage and better quality of education at all levels from basic literacy to hi-tech science and technology as a pre-requisite for raising agricultural productivity and industrial quality, and growth of IT and biotechnology sectors, stimulating growth of manufactured and services exports, improving health and nutrition, domestic stability and quality of governance. He said that he would soon launch a new scheme to attract the best and the brightest youth towards scientific careers. He deplored that the Scientific Capacity Indicators for Pakistan are highly unfavourable even with respect to other developing countries. We must turn things around and give Science and Technology a place in national development plan that it rightly deserves, he added.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry and all those who are involved in scientific matters to play a leadership role in putting Science and Technology at the forefront of economic revival. The Minister for ST Azam Khan Swati said that the Ministry despite lack of resources was working for the improvement of science and technology and its center for applied molecular Lahore has devolved interferon drug for Hepatitis-C cure.