By APP
Washington : President Pervez Musharraf has pledged to work with the newly elected parliament to defeat terrorism, build a stable democratic government and sustain economic growth – three top tasks before the nation.“Pakistan’s transition to democracy is essential to achieving reconciliation among our people,” he observed in an article in The Washington Post .
He described conduct of Monday’s parliamentary poll as a milestone and added “the historical significance of this election makes this the right moment for an honest discussion of the challenges and opportunities confronting both Pakistan and the United States, whose interest in a stable, democratic government in Islamabad is matched by that of the Pakistani people,”
Musharraf outlined three major goals for Pakistan and was confident of accomplishing them.
“Our nation faces three main tasks: defeating terrorism and extremism; building a stable and effective democratic government; and creating a solid foundation for sustained economic growth. “Because these goals are shared by the vast majority of Pakistanis, I am certain we can and will accomplish them, and I stand ready to work with the newly elected Parliament to achieve these objectives,” he wrote in the article put online Thursday evening and is due to appear on Friday.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s unswerving commitment to combating terrorism and cited its security forces’ sacrifices as he also vowed continued cooperation with the American allies in the common struggle.
“We will continue to work closely with our longtime American allies in our common struggle to rid Pakistan and the world of militant extremism.”
At the same time, Musharraf pointed out that force alone is not enough to wipe out terrorism and underlined that Pakistan’s comprehensive effort – including political, economic and military components would require continued US support and also drew attention to challenges in building democracy in the South Asian country.
“But our success will require the continued support of the United States. I would ask Americans to remember that building democracy is difficult in the best of conditions; doing so in a complex country such as Pakistan—with its uneasy political history, with its centuries-old regional and feudal cleavages, and with violent extremists dedicated to the defeat of democracy—is even more challenging.
“As history has shown, a peaceful transition to democracy requires the leadership of government and the willingness of the population to embrace democratic ideals. The people of Pakistan on Monday demonstrated that willingness; now it is time for government leaders to work together and do our part.”
President Musharraf wrote the government worked tirelessly to ensure that Monday’s vote would be free, fair, transparent and peaceful and recalled that a broad range of new procedures were put in place— such as the public counting of ballots at each polling station—to make certain that this would be the “fairest election ever held in Pakistan.”
On terrorism, he wrote, Pakistan faces and fights this menace with full dedication.
“How could we not? Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have declared war on the civilized world, and the moderate government and people of Pakistan are prime targets.
Some have questioned our commitment to the fight against extremism. In fact, more than 1,000 Pakistani troops have lost their lives fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban forces over the past four years, and 112,000 troops are fully engaged in the regions along our border with Afghanistan.”