ISLAMABAD, 21 March 2004 — President Pervez Musharraf has urged international donors to give maximum aid to Pakistan for development projects. Addressing a dinner he hosted for the participants of the Pakistan Development Forum , the president said that people were getting relief as a result of his government’s economic policies.
“We have achieved considerable success in reducing Pakistan’s debt burden. We never thought of approaching anyone with a begging bowl in our hands,” he said.
The president said that the last International Monetary Fund aid program showed that the government had achieved the targets. He said stock exchange situation and foreign exchange reserves had improved.
“We have introduced reforms to rid Water and Power Development Authority, Pakistan International Airlines and Karachi Electric Supply Corporation of corruption,” he said. President Musharraf said that international donors should not be apprehensive about the security situation in Pakistan. He said the PDF had submitted its recommendations that they would help government achieve economic progress.
Musharraf said Pakistan has moved forward in all aspects of economy and is following the policy of reducing poverty through job creation.
The president also vowed that Pakistan would remove misconceptions about the country and project its true image as a dynamic, progressive and vibrant country. In this context he said, Pakistan is addressing the issue of extremism and also tackling Al-Qaeda.
He said Pakistan has addressed the nuclear issue and proved that some individuals were involved in proliferation activity and not the government.
He also informed the PDF delegates that Pakistan and India have started the process of dialogue to address outstanding issues. “We have to remove all these misconceptions, and we are doing that. We will keep addressing the issue of extremism and remove misconceptions about the country and move forward to sustained economic progress,” he said. President Musharraf said the government has initiated a number of mega projects like raising the level of Mangla Dam, construction of water channels for creating jobs at grass roots level
Musharraf also said the government would not tolerate killing of women in the name of “honor” and vowed to deal harshly with the practice.
“Killing women in the name of honor cannot be condoned ... honor killing is totally illegal,” he told a convention of women in Islamabad.
More than 400 women fell victim to the menace of honor-killing during the year 2003, mostly in rural Pakistan. The killings are carried out by relatives on women who marry based on their own choice or who are believed to have committed adultery.
“These bad traditions and norms belong to medieval ages and we must move against them, collectively ,” Musharraf said.
He said the people must demonstrate to the world Pakistan is a tolerant, progressive and educated society.
Musharraf also spoke against “gender discrimination” which he said was a reality in Pakistan and other developing countries.
He underlined the government’s commitment to the rights and empowerment of women.
Musharraf said that 40,000 women were represented in the local bodies of the country’s 105 districts because of the allocation of a 33 percent quota for them in the system introduced in August 2000.
Women were also assigned 18 percent “reserved seats” in the bicameral Parliament as well as four provincial assemblies before the general elections in October 2002, he added. Musharraf also announced cuts in jail terms of women prisoners. The decision was taken on the special recommendations by Prime Minster Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. “The jail sentences of those women jailbirds of 60 years and who have already undergone one-third of their jail term will be released,” he said.
