LAHORE, Aug 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday assailed fundamentalism and religious extremism “for bringing a bad name to the country”, and said the government was taking every measure to fight them.

Addressing a group of senior editors and columnists at the Governor House, he said he would meet Ulema and Mushaikh to seek their co-operation and to discuss ways on how to promote tolerance and brotherhood, and project a moderate face of Islam.

He said fundamentalism and religious extremism were sullying the image of Pakistan, and there was a need to correct this impression.

The president explained that terrorism had three dimensions: Al Qaeda & Taliban, sectarianism and religious extremism.

Musharraf said people tend to think Pakistan as an extremist society. Negating this view, he said: “We are a progressive, enlightened country where tolerance prevails.”

The president said Pakistan desires to strengthen Afghanistan by fighting terrorism. He added that the country was determined to remove all the alleged pockets of foreign elements claimed to be in the tribal areas of the NWFP.

Musharraf said such elements were not only spreading terrorism in Pakistan, but also causing problems for the Afghan government.

The president appealed to the international community to resolve the political issues relating to Palestine and Kashmir. He said the world would be much more safer if these two issues were resolved in a peaceful manner.

He called upon the moderate and tolerant sections of society to stand up and be counted in the face of challenges posed by fanatics.

The president said the mosques must not be allowed to preach sectarian hatred.

He spoke of the excellent blend of enlightenment, history and religious tolerance prevailing in the three countries he visited recently — Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

President Musharraf said that during the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Summit in Malaysia later this year, all the issues facing the Muslim Ummah would be discussed and measures would be taken to remove wrong perceptions about Islam.

Reiterating his belief in popular system of government, President Musharraf said democracy would not be allowed to go off the rails.

He said it was necessary to strengthen and stabilize democratic institutions in order to make the country stronger and more prosperous.

The president, however, urged the opposition to play a positive role in strengthening the democratic setup by eschewing personalized politics, and by placing the national interest uppermost.

“The opposition must know that they are part of the country and should therefore act in a patriotic manner,” said the president.

Commenting on the current impasse between the government and the opposition on constitutional matters, President Musharraf expressed the hope that given the flexibility on both sides the issues would be sorted out amicably.

He said both the sides would have to endeavour to bring about political stability. The budget has been passed and the treasury benches enjoy a majority in the house to legislate on any bill, he said.

He, however, conceded that the government does not possess a two-thirds majority in the house for introducing constitutional amendments.

Speaking about the developing situation in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Gulf, he said Pakistan has now become the hub of the region.

He underlined the need for exploiting this situation to the country’s economic advantage “in order to move ahead with the rest of the world.”

He said Pakistan needed to pursue business-friendly policies and attract more investment if it wanted to seize the opportunity.

He said 9/11 sent out wrong perceptions both about Islam and Pakistan, and there was a need to clear them by following rational and pragmatic policies that projected the country as a modern, tolerant and enlightened Islamic nation.

He highlighted the government’s achievements on the economic front, saying the national economy was turned around in three years and a half.

Musharraf re-affirmed that no compromise on national interests would be allowed.

He said the government had so far taken no decision on sending Pakistani troops to Iraq, nor it was under any pressure in this regard. However, he said the troops could be sent only under certain conditions already spelt out by the government.

The president said the defence expenditures are made in a very transparent manner, and are overseen by different institutions like Auditor-General of Pakistan, Public Accounts Committee and financial adviser.

Musharraf said the total defence outlay represented 17 per cent of the federal budget.

The president refuted allegations that the Greater Thal Canal was being constructed to benefit military officials. He said the canal project had been undertaken to bring as much as 1.6 million acres of land under cultivation.

He said that he would personally explain the benefits of the water channel to the people of Sindh to allay their apprehensions and fears about water shortage in their areas.

Speaking on the water issue, he said six thousand cusecs of water was gifted by Punjab from its share to meet the requirements of Sindh while the Punjab chief minister announced a donation of Rs50 million for the rain and flood-affected people of Sindh.

On the Okara Military Farm lands issue, the president said certain NGOs were trying to overplay the matter for their own benefits.

He said that he himself had approved the batai system to help the growers get due return for the efforts put in by them for the cultivation of land.

The president stated that the revenue from the Military farms would go to the government, and not to the Army.

He described the armed forces as the ‘fairest establishment of Pakistan.’ —APP