ISLAMABAD, May 3: Expressing concern over a US-based report declaring Pakistan at number nine position on the list of ‘failed states’, the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Wednesday held President Gen Pervez Musharraf directly responsible for the situation.

Talking to Dawn, Deputy Information Secretary of the ARD Munir Ahmed Khan regretted that according to the report Pakistan stood among top 10 “failed states” whereas last year, the country was positioned at number 34.

Mr Khan said most surprising aspect of the report was that Pakistan had been equated with Afghanistan, which was at number 10 in the list of “failed states”.

He said when Gen Musharraf took over the government in 1999, he had stated that Pakistan was about to be declared a ‘failed state’ due to the policies of political governments. He said it was due to the wrong policies of the regime that now the country had plunged from 34th position to the ninth slot in the list.

Mr Khan said the report had been prepared on the basis of 12 factors, including mounting demographic pressures; massive movement of refugees and internally displaced people; uneven economic development; severe economic decline; criminalisation of the state; progressive deterioration of public services and widespread violation of human rights.

Mr Khan said the report had exposed tall claims of the regime regarding improvement in the economic conditions in Pakistan. He said the rulers were actually deceiving the masses by telling them a lie that the country was making great progress.

He alleged that the rulers had put the country’s integrity at stake due to their wrong policies. He said Gen Musharraf had completely failed to implement his own seven-point agenda which he announced soon after taking over the government six years ago.