ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that check and balance “on all power brokers” of the country would be ensured to have genuine democracy after the October election.
“Unfortunately the president, the prime minister and the chief of the army staff had been misusing their powers in the past, (but) this will not happen any more,” the president asserted.
“I will make sure that national interest will remain supreme as against personal or party interest,” he told reporters after having spoken at the convocation of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
In reply to a question, the president said he had never stated that he was in favour of increasing the powers of the president or curtailing the powers of the prime minister. “All I want is the balance in the powers of all the power brokers”.
The government, he said, was working on amendments that would be introduced for striking balance in the powers of the president, the prime minister and the chief of the army staff.
He also said that the government was considering removing the condition of graduation set for those aspiring to contest the election for the National Assembly.
Personally, the president maintained, he was in favour of retaining the condition as it was necessary to strengthen political and democratic institutions.
Asked that since the majority of people were illiterate and did not have the knowledge of computers the condition of graduation should be dropped, the president replied: “I have no knowledge of computers, but I believe that the condition of B.A is necessary.”
The president pointed out that people of Balochistan were in favour of the graduation condition as it would ensure replacement of the tribal system and bring new educated blood to politics. “Yet we are considering doing away with the condition because people are demanding it.”
Answering a question, the president said that Pakistan was not very keen in de-escalation as some people would perceive it a sign of weakness. “But I do say that the process of dialogue must be started for the resolution of Kashmir problem between Pakistan and India,” he stressed.
He said the government was not disturbed due to massive buildup of Indian troops on borders. “We are not weak, we are not disturbed and our forces can continue to stay on borders.”
Asked how could there be any dialogue when forces of both the countries were on borders, Gen Musharraf said that de-escalation was the first step to hold talks.
“But I would once again say that the international community should mediate or facilitate talks as the bilateralism has failed,” said the president, adding that the United States was a main power which could play the role of a mediator or facilitator.
In reply to another question, he said that various reforms being contemplated in the education sector would be protected even after the October election.
“The institution of the University Grants Commission will be eliminated to have a new higher education commission,” he said.
Similarly, he said, various other political and economic reforms currently being worked out and implemented would be protected and that nobody would be allowed to undo what he termed necessary reforms.