ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain have stated that Pakistan has achieved economic stability and the country is poised for a take-off.

In their separate messages on the 58th Independence Day of the country, President Musharraf felicitated the people and said that as a result of far-sighted policies and reforms agenda of the last five years, today Pakistan has achieved economic stability.

He said: "Our brave and hard-working people have surmounted many challenges. "We all have to continue working with honesty, sincerity and devotion in order to succeed in our quest of making Pakistan a truly modern, dynamic Islamic welfare state as envisioned by our founding father."

President Musharraf said: "Let us, therefore, renew afresh on this occasion, our pledge to spare no efforts for achieving the goals." Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in his message impressed upon the people that this day was a reminder of the tremendous and unprecedented trials and tribulations that led to the creation of Pakistan.

He said 57 years ago, under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslims of the South Asian subcontinent won a separate homeland after sacrifices.

The prime minister said Pakistan had made great progress since it attained independence, but its successes would have been greater if we had sincerely followed the motto given us by our founding father.

"As a thinking people we must also look seriously at our failures, go into their causes, and, in honesty to ourselves, ponder where we faltered and why." The prime minister said "through democracy and democratic institutions, we are endeavouring to introduce a culture in which Pakistan should take precedence over everything else, a culture in which politics should become another name for service to the nation."