By NNN-APP
Washington : A main American newspaper has urged US support for democratic development in Pakistan while observing that the South Asian country is on the verge of taking a major step towards consolidating secular democracy , the best antidote to extremism.
In an editorial, The Washington Post argued on the eve of the new parliament’s first meeting that a strong democracy offers the best long-term answer to the Taliban and al-Qaeda attacks against the country.
“The potential breakthrough comes in the agreement of the two largest political parties, the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muslim League, to form a coalition government that will hold a commanding majority in the Parliament elected last month,” the editorial said.
It noted that Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zadari, the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Muslim League chief Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister, agreed to implement a Charter for Democracy that Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif hammered out in 2006 while they were living in exile.
They plan to reform the constitution and restore members of superior judiciary, the editorial said, adding that with free media and independent judiciary “Pakistan could have the most liberal and open political system in its history.”
“That is the long-term solution to the assault on the country by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other fanatics, who so far this year have carried out 16 suicide bombings and killed more than 500 people,” the newspaper said.