News
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Get united to save Pakistan: Gilani* PM urges people to rise above petty differences and thwart attempts to destabilise country
* Says any solution to Afghan problem without Pakistan will not be productive
PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday urged the nation to stand united to face the several challenges the country was facing and to thwart all attempts to destabilise Pakistan.
Addressing the lawyers convention organised by Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) at the Peshawar High Court, he asked them to unite on a single point agenda for integrity, solidarity and sovereignty of Pakistan. “There is no danger to the country if the 180 million people of Pakistan stand united,” he said. Gilani, who was in Peshawar on a day-long visit, said the nation was resilient enough to face all sorts of challenges.
Commending the role of the legal fraternity during the historic judges’ restoration movement, supremacy of constitution, rule of law and restoration of sustainable democracy, he said the lawyers, civil society and political forces had played a lead role against dictatorship and for restoration of undiluted democracy in the country. The prime minister said the challenges could be tackled through the constitution given by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He said that it was the 1973 Constitution that had protected the country.
Gilani said democracy was the only way forward for Pakistan and it has been proven time and again that no other system can work in the country. He said he was also proud that his father was one of the signatories of the Pakistan Resolution signed at Lahore and he would not take any step that can damage Pakistan. He, however urged the people to rise above their petty differences and stand united to protect the sovereignty and independence of the country. He pointed that the issue of provincial autonomy has been resolved and the people were now getting their due share for development and said they were also getting the royalty that can bring prosperity to the people.
He said several departments have now devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. The prime minister pointed that the people who were earlier under the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas, have now been brought under the domain of the provincial government and draconian laws against the media have been withdrawn. While referring to Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA reforms, he said it would bring about positive changes in people’s lives.
He said Kala Dhaka, a tribal area near Mansehra district, was brought into national mainstream and was given a separate district status by the present government. He announced setting up of a University of Information Technology in Peshawar.
Separately, speaking at a dinner hosted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masud Kasusar in his honour, Gilani said that Pakistan is a part of Afghan solution and not a part of the problem and any effort to address this issue minus Pakistan will not be productive. Pakistan supported the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process, he said, adding, however, such a process should not destabilise Pakistan. Any effort towards Afghan problem without Pakistan, he said, would remain unproductive.
Pakistan, he stressed, had its own interests in the region, which it would protect at all costs. The country was a responsible nuclear power and had many friends across the globe and wants to be treated like a responsible and dignified state, he said.
Gilani assured the business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that the ‘PM Financial Package 2010’ for the revival of economic activity in the province will be implemented in letter and spirit. He said that the next meeting of the federal cabinet would be held in Peshawar. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk