Elections in Pakistan to be held within constitutional term: Jilani

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani on Thursday said elections will be held within the constitutional term, ARY News reported.

He was exclusively talking to ARY News in New York on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA session.

Jilani said the UNGA forum is important because of the presence of all foreign ministers so it becomes easy to plead Pakistan’s case. The way Prime Minister Kakar and my meetings are taking place, the session is going to be a success for Pakistan, he added.

He said Pakistan’s economic state was getting much better as compared to the past with the grace of Allah، The government has taken some steps to increase the tax base as per the constitution۔

Targeted subsidies are being given to the marginalized section of society. The budget for the Benazir Income Support Program has been increased to Rs 470 billion۔

Read more: ‘General elections may be held in December’

The caretaker foreign minister further said the government has launched a crackdown on people involved in the hoarding and smuggling of dollars. The crackdown is yielding results as the PKR is recovering against the greenback.

Pakistan has witnessed record agricultural production this year, which will address the country’s food-related issues, Gilani maintained.

Regarding the election, the caretaker foreign minister said that maintaining peace and order during the election is the responsibility of the caretaker government. Elections will be held within the constitutional limits in a transparent manner, he added.