News
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
‘Govt-presidency tussle will be catastrophic’
* Musharraf looking forward to working with new government for full five-year term
Daily Times Monitor
ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview published on Monday that political stability was his top priority and a war between the presidency and the newly elected parliament would be catastrophic. “I’m looking forward to working with this government for the full five years,” Musharraf told the Washington Times. The president listed his three top priorities: political stability, the continuation of the country’s economic development and success in the war on terrorism. “You’ll notice that I listed political stability first, because without that, you cannot have the other two,” he said. “Can you imagine what the effect would be on the business community, both foreign and domestic, or in the capitals of nations allied with us in the war on terror if the first thing they saw after this election was a political war between the presidency and the government? I think it would be catastrophic.” President Musharraf scoffed at speculation in the Pakistani press that he would attempt to derail the results of February 18 elections by using his constitutional powers to dismiss parliament, or not calling parliament into session. “You think someone who has spent his entire adult life defending Pakistan and the past eight years trying to put democracy back on track wants to see the government fail and the country return to political anarchy? “No. I’m committed to making this work.” Asked about pressure to step down, Musharraf replied: “The elections clearly pointed out that the Pakistan People’s Party currently enjoys the highest percentage of the people’s confidence, no question. Reading more into it than that is risky.” Asked to reflect on his past eight years in power, he said: “Obviously, the economy is in far better condition than it was when I first took office,” he said. “That didn’t happen by accident. I think I made some very sound appointments, and the people I appointed did quite well. “I’m also proud of what has been done to expand the role of women in politics. There are now 60 seats reserved for women in the National Assembly. Those seats, added to those won by women on party tickets, give women a strong say in legislative affairs. “And, of course, I’m proud of the way the recent elections were conducted.” Turning to things that could have been done better, he said he didn’t always do a good job of explaining exactly what he was doing and why. “But I’m not certain it would have made that much difference if I had,” he said. “I think that a number of people in the media could never see past the uniform.”
Courtesy Daily Times