ABBOTTABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan has said that democracy is future of the nation.

“Whether one is lawyer, engineer, doctor or teacher he needs to work and act as leader of his respective discipline,” he said while addressing the members of High Court Bar Association here on Thursday.

The governor said that the nation had been facing tremendous challenges for the last so many decades and was still passing through difficult times. “We need to be more conscious towards fulfillment of responsibilities as a responsible citizen both in our individual and collective capacity,” he said.

Earlier, the governor was chief guest at Jashn-i-Hazara, a famous traditional festival of the division taking place on regular basis since 1904. A large number of people enjoyed tent pegging, traditional dances, gymnastic, PT show and national songs at the festival.

Mr Khan was warmly welcomed by people on his first-ever visit to his home division after assuming the office of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor. A large number of from various walks of life including Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi, MPA Aurangzeb Nalotha, former MPA Barrister Javed Iqbal Abbasi and Inayatullah Khan Jadoon received him at Abbottabad.

The governor, accompanied by former chief minister Pir Sabir Shah, was welcomed by MPAs Gohar Nawaz Khan, Raja Faisal Zaman and Akbar Ayub Khan in Haripur.

Mr Khan said that lawyers played important role in educating people through their conduct and deeds as they had direct access to public. “We are faced with a challenge of building positive image of our country to get ourselves absolved of un-necessary issues and make a better headway possible,” he said.

The governor said that the goal could be achieved if they followed the principle of self-accountability and restricted their own business rather than indulging in affairs of others. “If one can’t correct himself, how he can educate others,” he questioned.

Mr Khan said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stabilised the democratic system. The prime minister established a positive tradition by practically acknowledging the verdict of the people, he added.

Responding to various points raised by Fazale Haq Abbasi, the president of High Court Bar Association, Abbottabad Circuit Bench, the governor said that they were expecting to hear good news in near future about launching mega development projects in Hazara division.

He said that in his recent meeting with the prime minister, he found him optimistic about initiating work on ‘Pak China Economic Corridor’. As part of the project, he added, land acquisition process for Hassanabdal-Havelian section of the Expressway was completed.