Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that despite all challenges, Pakistan is making its first constitutional and peaceful transfer of power to a new democratic government.
Addressing the International Convention of PPP late Saturday night, where he received the “Voice of Democracy” award, Bilawal said Pakistan had been transformed from a dictatorship into a democracy.
“We have restored the supremacy of parliament, stripped our Constitution of illegal powers, usurped by military dictators and nourished a thriving civil society and restored one of the freest press in the world,” he said.
Voicing his support for overseas Pakistanis’ right to vote in Pakistan, Bilawal said the PPP has always, and will always, stand by them.
“We are committed to the idea that dual-nationals should be able to participate in all our country’s civic matters, and that include the right to contest elections,” he told the Pakistani community.
Under this PPP government, Bilawal said, overseas remittances have increased from $6 billion during former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s tenure to almost $13 billion.
Bilawal said Pakistan is undergoing the first peaceful transition of power in its 66-year history through a powerful and independent election commission.
This government has passed more legislation for women in parliament than in all past parliaments combined to ensure protection of women, he added.
He said, “This has been the only government not to imprison people for their political allegiances.”
He said despite external shocks that led to fiscal deficit, Pakistan has, against all odds, managed to have an annual GDP growth rate of almost 4%. “Our exports crossed an historic benchmark of $25 billion this year.”
Commenting on the Balochistan situation, Bilawal said, “With every missing person and with every corpse, we realise a Baloch family loses hope in Pakistan.”
“We have stopped living in denial, and we cannot let the province bleed the way it has and taken historic measures to address the underlying causes of the challenges in Balochistan,” he added.
Condemning the making of the blasphemous film, he said all major political parties in Pakistan have called for international legislation that restricts hate speech and criminalises incitement to violence.
Talking about the independence of the judiciary, he said that on impartial judiciary is a fundamental component of a democratic Pakistan. “We respect the majesty of justice and accept the rulings of our Supreme Court, despite reservations,” he said.
He said the democratic government of the PPP opposed the drone strikes and added it will fight this war on its own terms and not at the dictation of any foreign power.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2012.
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