Saturday, March 23, 2013

Democracy necessary for Pakistan’s survival: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan was created through a democratic struggle, and the survival and well being of the state depends on the sustenance of a strong democratic system.

In a special message to the public on Pakistan Day, being celebrated today, Zardari urged the people not to permit any person or institution to undermine their democratic aspirations, and to work together for the betterment of the country in a spirit of tolerance, mutual accommodation and respect for dissent.

“Let us remind ourselves on this day that Pakistan was created as a result of a democratic struggle and its survival and well being also depends on democracy,” the president said. “It is evidence of the democratic ethos of our people that the parliament elected in 2008 first purged the constitution of dictatorial clauses, and then completed its full five-year term. I congratulate the nation on this achievement.”

Zardari said that Pakistan Day this year will go down in the history of the country as a time when a democratically elected parliament and the government successfully completed their constitutionally mandated terms for the first time, and the nation is set for a democratic transition in the near future. This achievement, he said, is a giant leap forward in the nation’s quest for sustainable democracy, federalism and constitutionalism. He urged the people to rededicate themselves today to upholding these principles.

The president said that it was 73 years ago on this day that the Muslims of the subcontinent resolved to strive for a separate homeland for themselves, and succeeded in this aim within a remarkably short span of seven years. This day symbolises the expression of the collective will of the Muslims of the subcontinent and is a reminder of their unity of intent in search of their common destiny. “Pakistan Day, each year, is an occasion to reiterate our commitment to the ideals for which Pakistan was created,” Zardari added.

He also paid tribute to the father of the nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, as well as to all those who struggled, suffered and sacrificed their lives for the cause of independence. “May Allah bless us in our efforts to prove ourselves worthy inheritors of the homeland and the heritage bequeathed to us by our forefathers,” the president said in his message. app

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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