Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro (MNA Pakistan Peoples Party)

In an interview with the monthly Herald, President Asif Ali Zardari talked about disaster management in the country, on the role of military in Pakistan and rumours surrounding the current government. Following is part III and conclusion of the interview.

A. That is a negative campaign to weaken our stance and democracy. There is a challenge by the rightist forces to democracy. Democracy per se does not suit the rightists. They sit in different places and most of them cannot see beyond their noses. Wherever they are sitting, they are thinking they are doing God’s work which is incorrect. And these forces get together and then there are interest groups. One of the very large media interest group has an 800 crore rupee liability and does not want to pay it. Pakistan People’s Party and the political powers of the day cannot afford that any institution or individual or class of media dictate to them – that tomorrow’s prime minister will be made by them. 

A. Sure, I couldn’t agree with you more. But everything has its time. At the moment it is time to take on the right-wing forces. Democracy was at its best when we took back Swat. It was at its best when politicians stood up in Rawalpindi saying, “do you want that Pakistan’s flag is brought down in Swat?” And we see that six months down the line it happens, that they do take off the Pakistani flag in Swat and call it the emirate of Waziristan. We go in and fight, we fight where the army has never fought before in Waziristan. These are all democratic dividends, no matter whether the police or the navy or the army does it. If they are so powerful, why didn’t they do it earlier? It is democracy’s strength that people don’t appreciate. Democracy doesn’t need to advocate itself as it is strength in itself. The leader of the opposition turns around and says there should never be an undemocratic move. This is democracy winning. 

A. The people will judge our record. Everything is not 100 per cent of what I would want it. We are going into by-elections everyday. Just six months ago we won the whole of Gilgit-Baltistan. That was another feather in the hat of this parliament — empowering the people and appointing a woman as the governor. 

A. You can’t pass a judgment. The government has a very cohesive policy. Prices in the agriculture sector are being managed at the international levels. I think there was a green revolution coming in that sector which has been damaged between 18 per cent and 21 per cent depending on the assessment of these floods. There was a huge transformation if you look at the number of tractors and motorcycles being sold and the money going into rural hands. 

A. Agriculture is one of the basic, principal achievements, apart from getting market access in the world. Then there is conversion of relations with China and other countries into commercial relations. These are all thought-out and not off-the-cuff policies. Yes, there have been challenges to this young democracy. Most of them are inherited or are internationally spun like terrorism. The debt left behind by Musharraf has left such a huge gap in the finances that we now cannot fill it without raising petroleum prices.

 Sources