13 February 2004	Friday	21 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 12: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said on Thursday that for Pakistan to progress it was necessary to eradicate corruption, impart quality education, provide speedy justice and allocate funds on the basis of need rather than population of the provinces.

He was speaking here at the National Defence College. The premier spoke of the issues confronting the country and reiterated his government's stand on country's economy, foreign policy, corruption, education and development.

Describing corruption a menace, he said his government would follow a step-by-step approach to eliminate it. His first priority would be education and accountability from the top, he said.

He said that in the last three decades, the culture of corruption had flourished. The ruling elite, particularly in the last decade, amassed fortunes through illegal means and abuse of authority.

The recently-instituted accountability mechanism by the military government, he said, was gradually crystallising into an effective set up and recent conviction of the corrupt was likely to create effective deterrence at every level.

He said his vision saw a corruption-free Pakistan in future. "I intend to combat it by a concrete anti-corruption agenda." Mr Jamali said Pakistan had to counter all moves aimed at undermining its security.

He said Pakistan's main preoccupation over the past 50 years had been to safeguard its security, with the unresolved Kashmir dispute being the main cause of the conflicts and tensions that had bedevilled our part of the world.

"I firmly believe that the Kashmir issue is neither intractable nor complicated. It can and must be resolved. It has always been a challenge to the conscience of the international community."

He said Pakistan-India dialogue would lead to a peaceful and stable South Asia, enabling us to dedicate our efforts and resolve to combat poverty, hunger and disease that afflicted the one billion people of this region.

Referring to the need of building a stable and prosperous Pakistan, Prime Minister Jamali said provincial allocations in the past continued to be based on provincial populations and not on their development needs.

He said: "A more honest way of facing the situations is to base the provision of infrastructure and social services on the established needs of each province, and not on a population formula." There is a need to update the population estimates on which existing distribution is based, he was of the view.

He said that at the very least, the development formula should adjust the population weight by the income level of each province, the existing disparity in physical infrastructure and social services, and differences in fiscal discipline and revenue generating efforts.

Referring to the judicial system, he said it was his government's endeavour to separate judiciary from the executive. "Justice delayed is justice denied. The objective in providing quick and inexpensive justice is to fight terrorism, to fight sectarianism, to fight oppression...to provide justice on the doorstep of every citizen ... to provide justice to the suppressed and the oppressed and to the rich and the poor alike."

He said that according to the law, every citizen should be treated equally. This can be achieved by establishing a system of justice based on Shariat, he said.

Prime Minister Jamali said the prime goal of his government was to pursue the dream of a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan. He said his vision was founded on the ideals that led to the creation of Pakistan. -APP