ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday the government did not want a clash of the institutions and that “democracy is the best revenge”. “We strengthened the institutions by giving more powers to parliament and we are willing to work and fight for a better democracy,” Zardari said at the 21st All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) award distribution ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr. The president said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not take the path of aggression after the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto because it could have threatened the institutions. “I am here for a larger cause, to fight the mindset,” the president said.
“We will have to take this challenge.” It was the wrong mindset that took away Benazir Bhutto, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti and thousands of Pakistanis, he said. “We are not against madrassas, but we are against the mindset,” he added. The president said the government would file a reference in the Supreme Court to revisit the judgement of the “judicial murder” of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He said it was in the interest of democracy and “we do not ask [for] anybody to be punished”. Zardari said the first PPP government of Benazir Bhutto in 1988 had put the country on the road to democracy and freedom of press. She lifted a ban on import of printing paper and made it free for everybody, he added. He said Benazir had introduced SPTN, CNN, BBC and optic-fibres in Pakistan, which were revolutionary ideas in those days and the government did not use it for personal propaganda or projection but only used it for information and entertainment. She wanted to open up Pakistan, he said, adding that the PPP was never afraid of criticism and wanted to give more freedom of expression to the people.
The president invited the elders, media and younger generation to dialogue, saying that it was the only way to resolve problems. The president asked the APNS to set up a body to rationalise the distribution of advertisements to the media. Later, the president presented awards to APNS members, journalists and advertising agencies for achievements in their respective fields.
