Terrorism, extremism main challenges to country: PM

QUETTA, June 07 : Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that extremism and terrorism are the main challenges facing the country which are being dealt with national consensus and successes in Swat, Malakand and South Waziristan are proof of the commitment of Government to eradicate the menace.

Speaking at a function at Command and Staff College on “issues of vital importance to the country” here on Monday Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said our successes against terrorism have been acknowledged globally due to the sacrifices of the people of these areas and demonstration of bravery by our armed forces and security agencies.

He said the instant response of the entire nation and the focused attention of the Government in looking after the 2.5 million IDPs and their safe return were unprecedented. Now, peace has been restored in Malakand and Swat, and the people have started their normal life, he remarked.

In his wide ranging address, the Prime Minister recapitulated the situation at the time when his elected Government was formed in March 2008 saying the economy was in crisis, there was scarcity of essential food items, energy crisis, capital flight, skyrocketing oil prices and terrorists were roaming around unchallenged. In such a situation he said our adversaries were complacently projecting Pakistan as a failed state and the confidence of our friends had worn thin.

He said during the past two years the Government addressed the momentous challenges at both external and internal fronts. He said the single most important issue that stared the democratic government in the face and warranted urgent policy response was that of terrorism and extremism.

Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said for a collective national response the Government reached out to the people who are the real stakeholders in a democratic dispensation.

He convened an All Parties Conference, which was attended by all streaks of political and religious opinion across the divide to craft a consensus on the issue. Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani briefed the political leaders about the seriousness of this threat. Pakistan 's sovereign parliament met in a joint session to consider the matter where parliamentarians of all hues and colours were briefed on the threats to the national security and territorial integrity of the country.

Parliamentary Committee on National Security formulated a counterterrorism strategy which was subsequently approved by the parliament. It formed an institutional response to terrorism and went a long way in giving political ownership to war.

He pointed out that the major attribute of a democratic system is that it tends to find solution to the complex and intractable problems by evolving consensus and accommodating all stakeholders.

The Prime Minister said upon taking over, the democratic government acknowledged the criticality of situation in Balochistan. President Asif Zardari visited Quetta and apologized for the treatment meted out to Balochistan.

He promised to divert all resources to the province and undertake other critical reforms to end backwardness in the province. The parliamentary committee on Balochistan came up with an ambitious Huqooq-e-Balochistan announcement envisaging economic, political, administrative, constitutional and monitoring reforms.

The key points of the Huqooq-e-Balochistan announcement include facilitation of political exiles’ return to homeland; immediate release of political workers; launch of political dialogue with major Balochistan stakeholders; establishment of fact-finding commission to investigate the circumstances that led to Akbar’s Bugti’s killing; setting up of judicial inquiry into killing of three Baloch nationalist leaders; end to construction of cantonments; withdrawal of armed forces from Sui and Kohlu; tracing missing persons, facilitating their immediate release; provincial consent in the launch of mega projects and 10 percent of profits of the natural resources to be allocated for development of these areas.

The government announced jobs for 20, 000 Baloch youths. Other important decisions related to the payment of royalty and gas development surcharge, which are Rs. 120 billion to be paid in 12 years; that means Rs. 10 billion every year.

He said the democratic government also accepted the long-standing demand of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to pay it Rs. 110 billion under the head of hydel profit. Since Khyber Pakhtunkhwa happens to be the frontline province where the war against terrorism is being fought and the former has to bear a huge loss in both men and material. As a mark of support to the province, 1% share of divisible pools has been reserved.

He said Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order -2009 is yet another major success of the democratically elected government.

Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the signing of the seventh consensual National Finance Commission Award between the Centre and provinces is a historic step in promoting inter-provincial harmony and strengthening the federation. This year, provinces will get more than one trillion under the NFC Award.

He said the democratic government has paid special attention to strengthening the role of institutions. He said they believe that democracy can take deep roots in the country if we strengthen the institutions and not the personalities. Even before taking oath, he ordered release of judges from house arrest and subsequently restored them as well.

The Prime Minister said the passage of the historic 18th Constitutional Amendment through unanimous support of both the Houses of the Parliament represents a giant leap forward in that direction. The President's voluntary surrendering of his powers as the head of National Command Authority and also under the 18th Amendment to the Prime Minister and by extension to parliament shows Government’s commitment towards strengthening parliamentary democracy in the country. The federation of Pakistan has become strong as provinces have been empowered both economically and administratively under this amendment.

Through the policy of reconciliation and understanding, they have filled the vacuum which was being exploited by inimical elements to destabilize the country. Perhaps, it is first time that the President, Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, opposition, media, civil and military leadership enjoys good understanding and each one is playing its due role within its sphere, he emphasized.

He said because of sound policies the economy is now back on the path of recovery. He pointed out that Pakistan economy suffered a staggering loss of about 45 billion US dollars due to this war. As a result of peculiar circumstances currently prevailing in Pakistan , therefore, pace of Foreign Direct Investment in the country is slow. Sever energy crisis further added to our economic difficulties.

He said the sluggish response of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan forced them to enter into Structural Adjustment and Stabilization Programme with the IMF to avert a looming default on balance of payments in November 2008.

However, due to wide-ranging reforms and economic belt-tightening introduced by the government, they have come full circle from a default-like situation to a reasonable stable economy.

The economic policies pursued by the government have brought about macroeconomic stabilization, narrowing the gap between fiscal and current account deficit.

The GDP growth has begun to turn upward reaching 4.1% in the outgoing year. Foreign exchange reserves surpassed US$ 16 billion. Remittances are up sharply to a record level of US$ 8.5 billion.

Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said they have been successful in achieving a measure of macroeconomic stabilization, checking inflation, restoration of a growth momentum, effective managing our international commitments, and developing innovative schemes for the disadvantaged.

He said to overcome the problem of power outages in the country, 32 small and medium dams (o8 in each province) would be constructed at a cost of about Rs. 250 billion. Work on construction of 6 dams has been launched. To exploit Thar coal reserves, a number of projects under Thar Coal Energy Board have been initiated.

The government has prepared a plan with full blessings of all key stake holders to double the generation capacity of the country from the current 20,000 MW to 40,000 within the next ten years. In the new budget, we have allocated Rs. 131 billion for hydel, thermal and nuclear power projects.

The Prime Minister said the government is going to launch an employment generation scheme for rural unskilled workers. Under this scheme the unskilled workers in the rural areas would be guaranteed employment for one hundred days in a year. A pilot scheme will be launched in 120 union councils in 12 least developed districts, and other that have suffered the most due to the security situation. Such like measures will address the issue of unemployment in the country.

He said the future of Pakistan lies in creating gender equality environment in the country.

The Government recognizes that accumulation of human capital is as important as the accumulation of physical capital for sustaining development. He said Education is our long term salvation and he has called for focusing all energies in this field. Rs. 55.439 billion have been allocated for the Education sector in the next fiscal year. The Government is committed to ensure improved access to education, vocational skills, training and other education services that enhance human capital and enable to generate better income through gainful employment.

Turning to Foreign policy he said it is guided by the protection of Pakistan ’s interests both at regional and international levels. Democratic Pakistan is playing its due role in the global affairs at all multilateral forums. Pakistan is no more taken for a ride.

He said friendship with China constitutes the cornerstone of our foreign policy. The government greatly values Pakistan ’s long-term strategic partnership with the US and always looked forward to concretizing our bilateral relations in the broad-based framework. Pakistan recently concluded the fourth round of Strategic Dialogue with the US , which covered a number of areas. During my meetings with the US leadership.

About relations with India , the Prime Minister said Pakistan seeks negotiated and peaceful resolution of all disputes with the neighbouring country. The government believes that if the lives of people of South Asia were to be improved, peace is the only course to achieve this purpose. He said the Indian leaderships’ willingness to resume stalled dialogue and international support for initiation of talks represents a win of our diplomacy.

The Prime Minister said since independence Pakistan has faced great challenges and our people have shown unmatched resilience and came out with flying colour from every test. He expressed the confidence to overcome the present challenges through the public support, institutional strength and sound policies.

“We have sovereign parliament, independent judiciary, free media, seasoned bureaucracy and professional army; and all institutions are working within the ambit of their jurisdiction”

Concluding his address, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said there is a long term strategy in place for building a modern, enlightened and progressive Pakistan that values the spirit of inquiry, critical and independent thought and public duty. Pakistan is self assured of its destined role to play according to the aspiration of people of Pakistan . Pakistan indeed is on the road to progress and prosperity with a bright future ahead, he said.