President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday said democracy was taking root in Pakistan, as for the first time in the country's history one elected civilian president would be handing over charge to another elected civilian president in a smooth and orderly manner.
The president was speaking at a dinner he hosted in honour of the Islamabad based diplomats here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to thank them for the support and cooperation that he received from them during the past five years.
Besides the diplomats, the dinner was also attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, chairman Senate, speaker National Assembly, federal ministers and a number of members of the Parliament.
President Zardari welcomed Prime Minister Sharif to the get together and said: “His presence here is a demonstration of the movement towards maturity of our democracy.”
He said, “In our journey on the road to democracy and progress we all have suffered in varying degrees. Mr Nawaz Sharif also endured the rigors of exile and imprisonment in this journey.”
The president besides appreciating the role of the diplomatic core in strengthening the mutual relations between Pakistan and their respective countries also spoke on challenges faced by Pakistan, including the war against terrorism and the country's relations with regional countries and other important capitals of the world.
He said the last five years have been extremely challenging and eventful years, adding, “some of the old challenges still persist and new challenges have emerged.”
The president, however, expressed his satisfaction that he would be handing over a far more stable and stronger Pakistan than what he had inherited five years ago.
The president said Pakistan sincerely desires to establish durable peace and stability in the neighborhood, adding, “We need peace and stability to realize the vast potential of mutually beneficial cooperation in diverse fields.”
As Afghanistan's closest neighbor, he added, Pakistan has borne the brunt of the crisis in Afghanistan in the past over three decades.
“The cost for Pakistan has been enormous. We have been hosting the largest number of refugees in the world over several decades. We have endured the inflow of drugs and weapons,” he pointed out.
The President said the cost for Pakistan has been huge, in both blood and material losses, adding, “history has proved that the destinies of our two countries are inter-linked.”
“Our dreams of peace and prosperity cannot be realized as long as Afghanistan remains in turmoil. It is for these reasons that helping restore peace and stability in Afghanistan remained on top of our agenda during the past five years,” he added.
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