Zardari: Govts's completion of tenure a major achievement

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The completion of a five-year term by the Pakistan government and a peaceful transition from one democratic set-up to another would be another major achievement of the current dispensation, President Asif Ali Zardari has said. Zardari made the remarks during a dinner he hosted last night for outgoing Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and some ministers and parliamentarians. "The completion of the tenure of the present government and a peaceful transition from one democracy to another would be another major achievement of the present dispensation," Zardari was quoted as saying in an official statement. The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government is set to complete its tenure tomorrow, the first time in the country's history that an elected government has lasted its full term. The PPP is conducting negotiations with the main opposition PML-N on choosing a caretaker Prime Minister who will head the interim set-up that will oversee elections expected to be held sometime in May. Zardari said the government had faced "huge challenges" during its tenure, including the war against militancy, economic issues, recurrent natural disasters and an energy crisis. It is to the credit of the government that it pursued a policy of reconciliation and took all political forces along on issues of national interest while confronting the challenges, he said. Among those who attended the dinner were Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Syed Naveed Qamar, Rehman Malik, Farooq Naek, Khursheed Shah, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Jahangir Badar and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar.