DAVOS, (Switzerland) Jan 27: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday underlined Pakistan’s critical role in the fight against terrorism and said the country’s sharing of vital intelligence had helped pre-empt terror attacks in a number of countries.

“Pakistan has done much more than people think or even realize. No country has done as much as we have done in countering terrorism,” he told a select gathering of intellectuals, journalists and non-government leaders.

He said Pakistan had fought terrorism militarily and shared critical information with other countries and helped save people’s lives.

He reiterated his country’s firm resolve to combating terrorism and said Pakistani forces were acting strongly to eliminate this scourge.

At present, he said, Pakistan is the only country of the world which is striving to deal with extremism and terrorism in a holistic manner.

Speaking to the participants who were invited by the Pathfinders Group to have an interactive session with him, the president highlighted the country’s economic achievements and the steps taken to strengthen democracy in the country.

He said the pioneers of structural reforms had steered the country towards an economic upswing and in this context he cited the 8.4 percent growth in GDP last year.

According to him, Pakistan is set to maintain higher economic growth despite the fallout from soaring international oil prices and last October’s devastating earthquake.

In response to a question the president said the government was trying to establish and strengthen national institutions to prepare future leadership.

“We are trying to establish a system which will give good leadership to the country.”

The president said the local government system is working successfully in the country.

He told the gathering that media in Pakistan was totally free and enjoying freedom of expression. “We have empowered people at the grassroots level, we have empowered women and minorities also - there is freedom of expression and these two are basic ingredients of democracy.” —APP