President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said his priority was to empower people and provinces to strengthen Pakistan and safeguard the future of the coming generations.
“The first thing I did after assuming office was to create consensus in parliament for the empowerment of the people,” the president said while addressing the second ‘Pakistan Leaders of Tomorrow’ conference at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the special initiative of President Zardari.
He said he voluntarily gave all the powers of the Presidency to parliament in order to strengthen democracy in the country.
Referring to geo-strategic environment, the president said attempts were being made to weaken Pakistan, but he had strengthened federating units to strengthen the country, promote unity and harmony, and to counter those nefarious designs.
The president said the government not only pursued the policy of reconciliation at home but also took steps to improve its relations with the neighbouring countries.
He said from day one, the government had emphasised on “trade not aid” to address Pakistan’s economic problems.
“We believe in increased trade as it contributes to peace and development,” he added.
The president said Pakistan was facing a great challenge from the mindset that had attacked Malala Yousafzai in Swat. He urged the youth to take up the challenge and fight this mindset as it was threatening the country and the future generations.
“Energy is the driver of the economy and growth but we are facing an energy crisis.” He said without blaming anyone for the present ills and the current situation, it was important that leaders of today take the responsibility to address the problem.
Later Zardari invited the students to ask questions.
Referring to his voluntarily transfer of powers to parliament, he said he had even transferred the control of the nuclear power and entrusted it to parliament.
He said collective wisdom was always better than individual wisdom, therefore, the PPP always adopted the policy of reconciliation and empowered the parliament which is the true representative of the people of Pakistan.
Zardari said the youth could play an effective role in confronting the present challenges.
To questions, he said Pakistan had very clear policy on drone attacks, adding that the government had taken a number of steps to provide relief to the affected people.
He said the affected areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA had been allocated more development funds as compared to previous years.
The president said, “We have to find solution to the drone issue through diplomatic means”.
To a question about the recent attack by Israel on Palestine, Zardari said Pakistan had strongly condemned the attacks. He said the Foreign Office had issued a strong condemnation on this issue while the Pakistani leadership had also issued similarly statements.
Regarding poverty alleviation, he said, the Benazir Income Support Programme was meant to empower and help poor families especially women. “Presently over 70 million are being benefited from this programme”, he said.
On the security issues, Zardari said maintaining law and order was a provincial subject, however, he said the federal government was providing all out help and assistance to the provinces to improve law and order situation.
