He said this while addressing PPP Ministers, Senators and MNAs in the Presidency on Monday. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani was also present on the occasion. He said that it was the fate of the PPP to be catapulted into power at a time when the nation faced grave threats to its security, integrity and well being. Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was called upon to lead the country in 1971 when the country had dismembered, tens of thousands of our nationals had become prisoners of war and five thousand square kilometres of our territory was captured by India.
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had been called upon to take over the reins, when the country was about to be declared a terrorist state and the national kitty was empty. Now the PPP has been catapulted into power and asked to steer the ship when the sea was turbulent and the ship was creaky, he said.
However, we are not afraid of the challenges, he said and added, "We are not afraid to lead and we know the way". The President said that the Party was committed to upholding democratic principles and would not deviate from it no matter what our opponents said. He said that we have charted are goals and will be lifted towards them by our dreams.
The President said that the government was fighting the militants and would not let them impose their political and ideological agenda on the people through use of force. He said he has been holding meetings with all the stake holders and two days ago he had met over one hundred tribesmen from FATA. He said that if the militants were not stopped now in Swat they would challenge the writ of the state in other parts of the province and even in the entire country which would never be allowed.
A number of PPP Parliamentarians spoke on the occasion to express their views on various facets of the current political situation in the country and also to highlight the problems of their constituencies. The President said that he had decided to hold such consultative dialogue with the Party Legislators every time the Parliament was in session.
He said he valued such consultations adding, "trust and wisdom is not the monopoly of any individual". Truth and wisdom, he said emerged only as a result of discussion among a large number of people in which each individual laid claim to a bit of reality.