ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: President Gen Pervez Musharraf announced here on Wednesday he would hand over all the government responsibilities to the new prime minister in a day or so.

“But I would continue to perform my important role for the security of the country”, he said.

“My government has fulfilled all its responsibilities, and now we are handing over sacred trust to the elected representatives”, he added.

In his 70-minute address to the nation on radio and television, the president mostly recalled his achievements made during the last three years and advised the new government to follow the policies of his government to make the country more strong and prosperous.

He said that he had honestly tried to put the country on a right path, and that now it was the responsibility of the elected representatives to play their due role to continue achieving broad national goals.

The president claimed his government had provided a solid foundation for a further progress, and that now the new political leadership should assume the reigns of power with confidence.

“I have fulfilled all the promises made to the nation including holding of elections”, he said.

He said Pakistan also needed political reform for the supremacy of democracy. There had been no system in the past to check corruption and inefficiency of the government and no power rested with the people to resolve their problems at the local level, he said.

The president said his government had started political restructuring at the grass-roots and introduced the local government system. “My government made far reaching constitutional reforms to keep a check on all powers for the continuity of democracy and reforms”, he said, adding that the Oct 10 elections were fair and transparent.

“We gave unprecedented freedom to media which was also a demand of a democratic society”, he said and suggested that this freedom should be exercised with a sense of responsibility.

Gen Musharraf gave details of achievements of his government in all fields including economy, poverty alleviation and development.

In the public sector development programme, he referred to the construction of water storage and irrigation channels including the Mangla, Gomal Zam dams. The Chutiari dam in Sindh was also complete, he said.

Similarly, he told the nation, work had also been launched for Thal, Rainy and Kurchi canal. Work was going apace on the Karachi-Gwadar Coastal Highway and Gwadar port, Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, Layari Expressway and three roads in the Northern Areas. The Saindak project had been restarted and people had got a lot of jobs. The Thal Coal Project had been relaunched after 10 years to generate electricity and gas, he stated.

Turning to steps taken by the government to alleviate poverty, the president spoke at length about 3.5 million jobs created by the launching of new development projects and half a million jobs through the Khushhal Pakistan Programme.

He pointed out that Rs5 billion were being distributed during the current fiscal year among mustahiqeen for making them self-reliant.

The president claimed that they remained successful in eliminating corruption at the top level and plundering of billions of rupees had been checked. “We have introduced a culture of merit and recruitment through the Federal Public Services Commission. We have also de-politicized the government institutions. The Railways is now earning profit as against annual loss of Rs2.5 billing and PIA would earn a profit of Rs2.5 billion this year. Pakistan Steel Mills paid back loans of Rs5 billion in three years rather than running in losses”, he told the nation.

Similarly, he said, Wapda’s collections had increased to Rs186 billion from Rs93 billion three years ago. Wapda would be giving connections to 1,400 villages this year, he added.

Gen Musharraf also referred to the enforcement of University Ordinance and urged the teachers and students to support the law in the interest of the country and universities.

He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was working satisfactorily although it could have done more. He said the NAB was able to regularise Rs160 billion, and its actions were across the board. It had started accountability from the highest level, he added.

In the foreign policy, the president said, his government was able to boost the prestige of the country at a very difficult time. “Today, we have very good relations with all countries including China, Japan and the US as well as with the European Union, Gulf, South East Asian, Central Asian and Islamic countries”, he explained.

Talking about ties with India the president said, the government upheld the honour and dignity of Pakistan and did not succumb to the Indian pressure and highlighted the Kashmir cause at all internal fora.

He said he had declared his assets when he took over. He said he had made no personal gains and only drew the salary of the Chief of Army Staff and met his domestic expenses from this salary. He never drew salaries of the chief executive or the president.

The president also said that during his three-year period exports and remittances had increased. Similarly, he said that the Central Board of Revenue was performing well and was expected to achieve its Rs450 billion revenue collection target. Budget deficit had improved and inflation curtailed. “There were $38 billion foreign debt which was now reduced to $36 billion”, he said, adding that the domestic debt had also been substantially reduced.

However, he conceded that the foreign investment had not increased as was largely expected.