December 30, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 6, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, Dec 29: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday said Pakistan was fully safeguarding its national interests, asserting that nobody was asking the country to roll back its nuclear programme or compromise on Kashmir.

“There is no pressure whatsoever on me to roll back the nuclear and missile programme. We are not rolling back, there is no question, these are our national interests and only a traitor will think of rolling back,” he said at a function marking the 50th anniversary of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS).

Pakistan, he said, was a declared nuclear power and had nuclear assets and a missile programme.

Dismissing the impression of “sell out” on Kashmir as completely unfounded and regrettable, the president said the Kashmir dispute was in the limelight and “now, we need to move forward towards a peaceful resolution of the issue.

“Nobody is asking me to give up on Kashmir,” he stated.

He said Pakistan was taking decisions on national and international issues in its supreme national interests.

“We have national interests, we are devising our policies and executing them, but there is no pressure on me.”

President Gen Musharraf said Pakistan was firmly committed to the policy of nuclear non-proliferation and said the government was investigating the allegations levelled against some scientists.

The president said he was not a weak person and always kept national interests supreme while taking decisions on vital issues.

Pakistan, he said, was taking a peace initiative forward towards the resolution of outstanding issues including Kashmir.

He expressed the hope that there would be movement towards the resolution of all issues including Kashmir between India and Pakistan during the Saarc conference.

Gen Musharraf underscored that there was absolutely no split in the top military leadership and all corps commanders were with him. He rejected the impression to the contrary as utterly false.

The president said he took a decision in the national interests on the question of sending troops to Iraq.

Pakistan, he said, was the country of 150 million and “will not beg from anybody nor will it be coerced, and our policies are purely our own.”

President Musharraf said the vast majority of Pakistanis was moderate and there was no place for Al Qaeda or other extremists in the country.

“We must act against Al Qaeda and Taliban,” he said reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to fighting extremism. The president also asked moderate people to shrug off apathy towards religious extremism and come forward with a pro-active role in stamping out this menace facing society. He also referred to the action taken against extremists in the tribal areas sometime back and said Pakistan would not allow any extremists to misuse its territory.

However, he regretted that a section of the Press did not report factually on the action against extremists in the tribal areas. He said the Pakistan Army was the greatest organization for the nation and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was a great national institution that worked in accordance with national interests.

Gen Musharraf said he would seek a vote of confidence from parliament. He referred to the agreement on the Legal Framework Order and said although the nation had voted for him in the presidential referendum, he showed flexibility in the interest of democracy and Pakistan.

The president expressed the hope that after an agreement on seven points of the LFO, those receiving instructions from abroad and putting obstacles in the way of democracy would now conduct proceedings in a democratic manner so that the world perceived Pakistan as a respectable and responsible democratic country.

The president discarded the impression that democracy was not functioning in Pakistan.

Democracy is functioning in the country. There are human rights, there is an elected prime minister, the cabinet, chief ministers, assemblies and the Senate, he explained.

Democracy is the rule of majority and if minority wants it the other way, that is not democratic, he added.—APP