Moderates gaining strength in Pakistan: Shaukat Aziz
Pakistan Times Staff Report

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday that the people have shown tremendous interest in the first phase of local bodies elections and preliminary analysis has clearly indicated that extremism from politics has relatively been disenfranchised.

People have supported the moderate and development-oriented candidates and those contestants promoting extreme views have been relatively disenfranchised.

Addressing a press conference at the Governor House, the Prime Minister was of the view that it would be sweeping statement before the second phase of LB polls and general elections but the trend and participation of voters with enthusiasm in the midst of a tolerant atmosphere are clear indications that people are now conscious of their rights that can be achieved only by moving in the right direction.

Half the election is over and the other half has to go but we need to see the overall results. “We have to see the complete results what the trends are but the initial indications seem to imply that the moderate forces are gaining strength,” he stressed, observing that progressive groups have come forward and won most of the seats reflecting people’s will to take the country to new horizons.

Voters' Turnout

About the voter turnout the Prime Minister provided details of all the four provinces saying it was 62.6 percent in Punjab, 46.4 percent in Sindh, 43.4 percent in NWFP and 30.5 percent in Balochistan. The average turnout in the entire country was 45.7 percent. It is a good turnout, he said.

“I have repeatedly said that establishment of LB system in Pakistan is the first step towards democracy as problems faced by common man will be resolved at local level and that is why the government decided to hold LB elections on non-party basis so that every citizen of Pakistan can contest and participate in the polls,” the Premier said.

Extremists disenfranchised from Politics

The PM said it was heartening to observe that both winning and losing candidates have shown political maturity to accept the results gracefully. There were, of course, minor incidents of disruption, which were handled tactfully by the law enforcing agencies.

“We have to come out of the culture of provocative celebrations after the victory and the attitude of condemnation after the defeat because accepting results gracefully is the only way democracy will prosper in the country and political environment will improve,” he added.

He pointed out that there were thousands of polling stations all over the country and some violations of code of conduct could have been recorded but those can be redressed by the Election Commission if processed in a proper legal way.

Commenting on results of first phase of elections the Prime Minister said “We are quite pleased with the outcome particularly the law and order conditions which proved to be immaculate that resulted in conducting the polls in a satisfactory manner.

Law & Order Meeting

Prior to the press conference Shaukat Aziz chaired a law and order meeting in the Governor House where he cautioned government officials and personnel of law enforcing agencies not to be complacent for the second phase.

He lauded hard work of Sindh government and law enforcing agencies to maintain a tight grip on the situation particularly in the wake of several threats from the opposition parties that voters will face violence and dangerous conditions.

Talking about Karachi he said that all eyes from international investors and media were focused on the metropolitan looking for some incident to blow it out of proportion but they failed in their observance while the peaceful elections have paved the way for more foreign companies coming Karachi and investing in various projects.

The Prime Minister was of confident assessment from the results of the first phase that people have endorsed the policies of President Musharraf and his government as they can see that the ruling party is working hard and striving for the emancipation of the poor and middle class man.

“We still have to go a long way but a vote of confidence has been awarded that reflects we are moving in right direction, But at the same time we don’t want to be complacent for the second phase as we do not want the process of democracy to derail and cause damage to the strenuous efforts that have gone into the progress during the last six years,” he added.

Replying to a question, the Prime Minister said in the second four-year term, the accounting and audit procedures for the local governments will be strengthened.

In this regard, he referred to his meeting with the Auditor General of Pakistan during which ways to bring transparency in the accounting and auditing systems for local governments were considered.

He said while federal and provincial governments played their due role in providing funds for various projects, the district councils too should play their role to come up with schemes for the welfare of people and providing them basic facilities of life.

Role of Local Councils

The Prime Ministter emphasised that it is essential to have transparency in expenditures made by the local councils so that fruits of the system could reach the people at grassroots level properly.

In the interior of the province, he referred to projects like LBOD, RBOD, network of roads, massive repair of Sukkur Barrage, laying of federal and provincial roads and said today the condition of roads is much bettter than what it used to be 15 years back.

Shaukat Aziz said now the focus is being laid on smaller cities like Nawabshah, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad etc besides a multi- billion rupees develoment package for Hyderabad.

He said that if attention is not paid to problems of water, drainage etc in smaller cities, the people there would start moving towards bigger cities.

Replying to another question, Shaukat Aziz said the available land in Karachi is very valuable and will be used with all care.

He referred to the auctioning of a section of railway land in Karachi and said now a project will come up on this land and this would benefit both the railway and the government.

Prime minister said industrialisation in Karachi will be promoted. In this regard he referred to installation of another steel mill by a Saudi company and expansion of Pakistan Steel Mill.

“Our objective is that available land is brought under proper use and would see that new industrial units come up”. He said such plots would be allotted only to genuine people which would help augment industrial activity here.

Pakistan has no aggressive designs

And while speaking at the Special Convocation 2005 of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi, the Prime Minister said on Sunday that Pakistan was a peaceful country and it did not have any aggressive designs against any one.

"Nevertheless, it is our conviction that peace comes with strength and not weakness, therefore, the government is committed to providing an impregnable defence for the country, he said.

A degree of Doctors of Laws (Honoris Causa) was also conferred on the prime minister during the convocation. Shaukat pointed out that at the strategic level, Pakistan’s nuclear and missile capabilities had ensured a credible deterrence which was the ultimate guarantee for "our security and a factor for peace and stability" in the region.

"Our foreign policy has been reoriented to focus on furthering of our economic and trade interests while pursuing the traditional goals of securing the sovereignty and security of the country as geo-politics is fast yielding to geo-economics.

The prime minister also pointed out that Islam had influenced the mankind across continents. Muslim civilisation created a continental super state that stretched from ocean to ocean and from northern climbs to tropics and deserts.

"Within its dominions lived hundreds of millions of people of different creeds, ethic and religious origins. It provided an outstanding example of tolerance and leadership — a leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population that included those from many other religions such as Christianity and Judaism and others."

Rejects prejudices against Islam

He said the false notion of clash of civilisation especially between the West and Islam and the tendencies to malign the Islamic faith are dangerous. "We reject prejudices against Islam. Islam is a faith of peace, tolerance, compassion and it is not on collusion course with the West." He made it clear that there is no place in Islam for terrorism, sectarianism, hatred, exploitation of human values and disrespect for others’ beliefs.

Meanwhile, the obtaining law and order situation in Sindh came under detailed review at a high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here at Governor House on Sunday.

The meeting was attended by Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqi, Sindh Adviser for Information Salahuddin Hyder, Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman and senior officials of federal and provincial organisations.●