MULTAN, March 8 President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said that parties which were in a position to form governments at the Centre and in provinces must end “politicking” and focus on putting the country on the path to progress and prosperity.

“All the political parties must understand this, put politicking on the backburner, provide good governance and take the country forward for the betterment of the nation,” President Musharraf said at an inauguration ceremony of a Pakistan Television (PTV) centre in Multan.

“A country where there is only politicking for five years cannot move forward.”

He said the Election Commission had yet to send a summary through the caretaker prime minister to him, so that he may summon assembly sessions.

“As soon as I get the summary, the sessions of national and provincial assemblies will be summoned, without any delay,” the president said.

He said a stable government and peace were essential requirements of the day. “If there is chaos and anarchy the country cannot progress and we will have to stop it.”

He pointed out that the country's foreign exchange reserves were touching an all time high of $17 billion ($14 billion at present), exports had gone up to $18 billion, remittances to $5.5 billion, direct foreign investment to $8 billion and revenues to $1 trillion.

“Hard work, honest and sincerity to the purpose have gone down to achieve this,” he said, adding that these figures had been endorsed by international institutions.

The president said the economy was facing threats from three directions rising international prices of fuel, three-fold increase in prices of cooking oil and the pressure on price of wheat, which had gone up by 22 per cent in the United States.

President Musharraf said the gap between fiscal deficit and the balance of payment needed to be filled.

“If we have sincerity and the will to push aside those who are trying to demoralise the nation, we can move forward,” he said.

The president said it was now the responsibility of the new government to put the nation on the road to prosperity and cut down expenses.

“I hope the new government will understand their responsibility and do their best to achieve this objective,” the president said.

He said the nation must also be wary of those who were alleging massive rigging in the polls. He said there were rumours of a special cell at the Governor House to manipulate election results, but all these allegations later turned out to be wrong, he said.

The people must beware of such elements as were attempting to destabilise the country and demoralise the nation, by causing confusion. “Such people must be held accountable,” the president said.

The president said certain elements were creating despondency by appearing on television talk shows and writing in newspapers, but warned the nation against their “negative propaganda”.

“The media too must show responsibility as it is their duty not to let the nation get demoralised,” he said.

He said the country was passing through a critical and important phase, and expressed satisfaction that the electoral process had gone smoothly. He said the elections were held in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner and had been acknowledged by all people.

Information Minister Nisar Memon, Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool, caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Ijaz Nisar, information secretary Anwar Mehmood, PTV MD Yousaf Mirza Baig and the Italian ambassador also attended the function.

---APP