By IRNA
Islamabad : Co-Chairman of PPP Asif Ali Zardari has said that democracy has been restored in the country after the long struggle by the PPP and especially Benazir Bhutto who even rendered her life for the cause of democracy.
In CNN Commentary: Momentous day for Pakistan, Bhutto’s legacy, Zardari said the two largest political parties, the PPP and PML-N agreed to form a coalition government to strengthen democracy and bring stability to the country.
The PPP, which he leads after the assassination of his wife, has joined the PML-N led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to form a broad-based, democratic and liberal government.
Zardari said agreeing to form a coalition government he and Nawaz Sharif I have responded to the mandate given by the people of Pakistan in the February 18 election.
The country’s masses no longer want to live under the thumb of a dictator but want an end to terrorism and violence and wish to join the rest of the modern world in the pursuit of peace and prosperity.
They want to restore the supremacy of the people’s house, the National Assembly, and free it from the sword of Damocles of a marginal presidency with inflated, unconstitutional authority, he added.
The PPP leader said political leaders and people have suffered from the politics of personal destruction, adding, “We have been battered by dictatorship; we have seen civil society taken apart and a free and independent judiciary destroyed.
“We have seen international assistance, secured in the name of fighting terrorism, diverted towards making Pakistan ‘s affluent few richer.”
He said with renewed confidence in democratic parties like the PPP and PML-N, it is time for the rebirth of a democratic, vital and progressive Pakistan.
Zardari said that some fear a coalition government would lack the necessary strength to tackle country’s myriad problems but cooperation between the country’s biggest political parties, representing an overwhelming majority of the people, would bring greater stability than one-man rule.
He said together, the PPP and PML-N will be able to build a strong civil society that would go a long way to erasing the scars of militarism and militancy.
“We will focus on providing education and employment at the grassroots levels so the country’s youth can play an integral role in building a strong national economy”, he added.
The PPP leader said under the rule of Pervez Musharraf, extremists were allowed to thrive along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The key to improving security there is not to make citizens in Pakistan’s tribal areas feel like second-rate citizens kept under lock and key, caught between the threats of violence from militants and the military, he observed.
He said, “We must let all of our citizens, including those in the Federally Administered Tribal Area, to take part in the growth of Pakistan ‘s economy and civil society.”
He said the PPP has a vision to build a nation that is one of the great capital markets of the world; a revitalized nation that will generate international investment.
“We look forward to the complete electrification of all of our villages, the purification of our nation’s drinking water, the privatization of the public sector, the expansion of the energy sector, the development of our export industries, the modernization of our ports and the rebuilding our national infrastructure”, he claimed.
Zardari said Pakistan’s democracy has not evolved over the past 60 years because the generals believed they should intervene in politics and run the country.
The army’s misperception of itself as the country’s only viable institution, and its deep-rooted suspicion of the civilian political process, has prevented democracy from flourishing, he added.
“We will establish a Press Complaints Commission similar to that of the United Kingdom and stand up for the democratic rights of citizens to freely establish television and radio stations, subject to the basic legal framework,” he maintained.
He said Pakistan People’s Party plans to work in good faith with its fellow democratic parties and coalition allies to achieve goal of building a new, progressive Pakistan.
Everything will not come at once but will be a long and complex process.