ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday said the People’s Party-led coalition government would not let anyone derail democracy in the country.

“The coalition government is going to complete its tenure and is heading towards elections,” the prime minister told his cabinet colleagues at a meeting at the PM House.

The government, he added, considered elections as “an amanat” (trust) and it would be held in accordance with the Constitution.

He said the government had rendered countless sacrifices for the parliamentary system, which would be further strengthened.

He described extremism, militancy and intolerance as major challenges and reiterated his pledge to fight out the evils.

The cabinet condemned the current wave of terrorism and assassination of senior minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bashir Ahmed Bilour.

Mr Ashraf said the government was implementing schemes such as Benazir Income Support Programme to address the issues of poverty and unemployment.

Notwithstanding the difficult international economic scenario and threats of terrorism, he said, the country's capital market was growing and KSE 100 Index had crossed 16,000 points, which showed investors’ confidence.—APP