January 25, 2002	Friday	Ziqa’ad 10, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that general elections will definitely be held in October this year, ushering in a real democracy “which will be fine-tuned and adjusted according to our requirements.”

“There will be strong checks and balances at the leadership level,” he said, adding that nobody will be allowed in the future to give preference to his personal interests over those of nation’s.

Inaugurating a three-day Pakistan Human Development Forum here on Thursday, he said Pakistan needed thorough political restructuring to establish true democracy which was so far non-existent. “But this job will be done by my government.”

The first session of the Forum was also attended and briefly addressed by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, British Secretary of State for International Development Ms Clare Short and President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr Ahmed Muhammad Ali.

Delegates from 25 countries and 18 international donor agencies are attending the moot.

The president also declared that nobody will be allowed to reverse political and economic reforms introduced by his government over the past two years. “I would ensure the continuity and sustainability of reforms and the restructuring done so far by my government.”

He said a democratic system had been put in place through local governments and that a beginning had been made towards bringing about, what he termed, a “silent revolution” in the country.

Every country has its environment and requirements to practise democracy, he noted. “Our requirements are different from those of the US, the UK, Australia, Zimbabwe etc., therefore we will have democracy of such kind as suited us and fulfilled our requirements,” the president added.

The local governments, established through devolution of power plan, are performing well despite having some teething problems, the president claimed.

He said his government had devolved administrative, political and economic system, and that bureaucrats sitting in Islamabad and provincial capitals could no longer impose their decisions on the local government representatives.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who attended the inaugural session at a special invitation, said that Pakistan had played a big role in combating terrorism. “And I am sure President Musharraf’s government will now work to remove poverty from the country.”

He said it was important to pursue priorities like fight against poverty, protection of environment and removing inequity between states and within a state, in addition to focussing on fight against terrorism.

The UN secretary-general said he was encouraged to see the emphasis being put by Pakistan on human development, poverty alleviation and good governance. He said at the millennium summit of the UN last year, it was decided that every country will give a report on poverty reduction. He was confident that Pakistan will have an interesting story to tell the UN members on this score.

Mr Annan urged the private sector and NGOs to work with the government to make a collective contribution to the effort at alleviating poverty and human resource development.

British Secretary of State for International Development Ms Clare Short urged the government of Pakistan to increase its efforts at improving health and education services in order to improve economic growth and the prospects of a successful transition to a mature government.

She was of the view that Pakistan could create a just, tolerant and progressive society that will ensure better lives of the people of Pakistan and stability in the region.

The government will have to make efforts at removing corruption and that without eliminating this menace, the country could not progress. “Tougher actions are required against corruption,” she said.

She also lauded the president’s commitment to hold elections. Ms Short regretted that successive governments in Pakistan failed to deliver, which brought political and economic instability in its wake.

The UK Secretary of International Development also said that there was a need to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan. Both the countries, she said, should resolve their differences over Kashmir so that their resources could be diverted to poverty alleviation.

President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Ahmed Muhammad Ali said Pakistan government had undertaken an important task of alleviating poverty for which his bank will provide all possible financial assistance.