The Prime Minister was talking to a large delegation of PML parliamentarians who called on him at the Parliament House this afternoon. The meeting offered Fateha for the people who lost their lives in Karachi and the members expressed deepest sympathy and sorrow to the relatives of bereaved.
The Prime Minister said that the PML government and its coalition partners are working to strengthen democratic institutions and values in the country to promote tolerance, development and growth. "We discourage politics of confrontation."
The members of the delegation said the impressive attendance of the people from all parts of the country in Islamabad rally and the enthusiasm shown by them is a testimony of the success of the policies of the government and a tribute to President General Pervez Musharraf and his team.
The Prime Minister thanked Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President PML, Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Ellahi, MNAs and workers of PML who made this event a historic success. He said that PML has emerged as the single largest national party with representation from across the country, which is good for the unity of the country. The Prime Minister said that PML led the struggle for Pakistan and "today we are working to strengthen the country in the light of the vision of 'Quaid-i-Azam'.
He said Pakistan was achieved through sacrifices made by our forefathers under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam and PML will not allow any one to derail the country from path of development and prosperity.
The Prime Minister said the country had made significant progress during the last seven years. From an imminent threat of being declared a failed state, the country is among the fastest growing economies of Asia, he said.
However, "we are not complacent and are fully conscious of the challenges faced by the country and will ensure continuity of policies to bring further improvement in the country", the Prime Minister added. Speaking on the occasion Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain appealed to all political leaders belonging to various political parties to exercise utmost restraint so that normalcy returns to Karachi.
He said he talked to Altaf Hussain, Asfandyar Wali, Khurshid Shah and emphasised that every effort should be made to cool down the situation and avoid ethnic and linguistic confrontation. They thanked the Prime Minister for the historic development work undertaken by the government and said that due to continuity of policies, fruits of economic turnaround have started reaching the grassroots levels and there is a significant improvement in the living standards of the people across the country.
They appreciated the unmatched allocation of funds for the provision of better facilities of health, education, clean drinking water, electricity and road network. They said that PML would emerge victorious in the next general election on the basis of its performance in the office.