Begging bowl can't be broken: President Mamnoon
30 December, 2013
BHURBAN: President Mamnoon Hussain has said that the begging bowl can't be broken and the people should show patience as Pakistan's debt has increased from Rs6,700 billion in 2008 to Rs14,800 billion in 2013 and the country has to take loans to repay earlier loans.
He said that it is only through democracy that Pakistan can develop and all institutions, political parties and the media should work to promote democracy in the country.He was addressing the participants of a conference titled, "Media and extremist narrative: an alternative pedagogy of tolerance," organised by the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) and South Asia Women in Media here on Sunday.
President Mamnoon said he, as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, would make every effort to safeguard the rights of the people and institutions.The president condemned the terrorism being spread in the name of Islam in Pakistan. He said Islam stands for peace and those killing people in the name of Islam are actually violating the principles of Islam.
Mamnoon noted that a wave of change has started in Pakistan and it is healthy sign that after a long time, there has been a peaceful transition of power from one democratic government to another.He hoped that Pakistan keeps on treading the democratic path in the future and seeks media help in this regard.
He said that Turkey was under military dictators over a decade ago but after democratisation, it is excelling in engineering and industry and has brought the inflation rate down from 400 percent to eight percent. He said that the Turkish prime minister on his recentvisit asked him to try Turkish products and compare them with those from any western country. It is a fruit of democracy, he added.
The president referred to different thermal and hydel power projects being undertaken in the country to end the menace of loadshedding. He said countries in South Asia should cooperate with each other to solve the problems they are facing and to succeed in their objectives.
Earlier in his welcome address, Imtiaz Alam, Secretary General of SAFMA, said that SAFMA-Pakistan always keeps the interest of Pakistan supreme and at the South Asian level, the association does not take any step which goes against the interests of member countries.
He deplored the rising trend of terrorism in Pakistan. He said that terrorism has no religion and Islam does not permit attacks on mosques and churches.APP adds: President Mamnoon Hussain urged the media to continue in its responsibility for dealing effectively with terrorism and extremism besides promoting peace ventures in the region.
He cautioned the media to remain vigilant against any misuse of its freedom. He said the media should ensure freedom of expression but at the same time it should not allow any person or element to create unrest and a law and order situation in society.
Expressing his optimism, the president said that the media would continue playing its main role in foiling the nefarious designs of terrorists and discouraging the attempts for creating disharmony and misunderstandings in society.
The present government firmly believed in freedom of the media and people's right to information as no society could achieve progress without giving people the right to speak and information, he said.
End.
|
