The AGP said though the president is the head of the state but has a limited role in dissolution of the parliament and extending pardon to anyone. Rejecting a claim of opposition that Nawaz Sharif is still running affairs as a premier, Ashtar said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is fully powerful and does not take dictation from anyone. He said the Prime Minister enjoys no additional powers and all decisions have been made by the cabinet.
He said heading cabinet meetings by party's heads is a normal practice in democratic countries. Whether KP chief minister Pervez Khattak and Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah do not attend cabinets' meetings presided over by Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari, respectively, the AGP questioned.
He said there is no reason behind the Islamabad sit-in given by a religious groups since the provision of Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration stood restored. He said the demand for the resignation of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Law Minister Zahid Hamid is unwarranted.
The finance minister was unable to travel back to country due to cardiac problem, he said. To a query about possibility of early election, Attorney General Ali said the politicians demanding early polls were preparing for the general election in fact. About the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, the AGP said the Pakistan would file its reply before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on next hearing fixed for Dec 13.
He said Pakistan would also agitate before the ICJ grave violations of human rights in Kashmir by India. He said the convicted Indian spy has been allowed to meet his wife on the basis of Islamic teachings and humanitarian grounds. Ashtar stated that delay in Orange Line Metro train project caused a huge loss to the national exchequer.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017