News
Sunday, April 10, 2011
No clash betweenin stitutions in country: Zardari
* President says democracy only way for taking country forward
* Says govt has political will to face challenges
ISLAMABAD: There is no clash of institutions in Pakistan. There is a friendly atmosphere in which every institution is working smoothly, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday.
He said that the government has the political will and determination to lead the country in facing the challenges and embark upon the path of development, progress and prosperity.
Speaking to the participants of the 94th National Management Course at the Presidency, Zardari said that Pakistan was facing a lot of challenges, but “God Almighty has blessed us with the potential and ability to tackle them, as we have a vibrant society to face these challenges.”
“We have the political will to face the challenges and terrorism in Swat and Malakand by implementing this will,” the president said and expressed the confidence that the government would also succeed in overcoming economic challenges as well.
Zardari said democracy is the only way for taking the country forward in the right direction. He said democracy is passing through an evolutionary process and the time is not far when Pakistan will become a strong democratic country.
The president also highlighted the achievements of the government, and said that had been attained by following the vision of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
“We are pursuing the policy of reconciliation and by the grace of God Almighty we have been successful in tackling a number of issues,” he said.
Zardari disagreed with the term ‘judicial activism’ and said that this situation had actually strengthened democracy.
He said the salaries of judges have been increased manifold to attract bright minds towards the judiciary.
To a question about challenging dictatorship in the future, the president said, “We need to strengthen democracy for this purpose.” He added that all political forces would have to work with full ownership to strengthen democracy. Zardari said that the government believed in letting others live and this would help stop dictatorship.
To a question regarding eradicating provincialism, the president said democracy provides a way to bring all the political forces closer, which makes it possible for a political consensus to be made on all issues. “You cannot stop anything by force. Democracy can ensure the containment of provincialism,” he said. Zardari added that we all have to work together to remove the sense of deprivation and the government had already initiated a process in this regard by launching the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package.
Commenting on extending the Political Parties Act to FATA, the president said all political parties agree on bringing the Tribal Areas to the national political system, adding that this was the right time to do it. He said the PPP had initiated the process in FATA by awarding tickets to candidates of the area.
To a question regarding the demand for setting up new provinces, the president said that based on his experience, he had opposed this idea, but the wishes of the people could not be ignored. “We are bound to accept the opinion of the people just as we have done in the case of renaming NWFP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Zardari said. staff report/app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk