Will overcome ‘failures’ after winning polls: Raja

BRADFORD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Sunday said that the PPP would overcome failures after winning the upcoming elections, in which he predicted the party would secure two-thirds majority.

The prime minister said the democratic coalition was fully committed to holding free, fair and transparent elections on time, to ensure continuity of the democratic order in the country. He was addressing a large gathering of Pakistani diaspora. Others who spoke on the occasion included British Minister Baroness Saeeda Warsi, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Raja Tariq Kiani and Brig (r) M Hasan. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was also present on the occasion.

Raja further said that he belonged to the bourgeois class and his elevation as prime minister was reflective of the PPP’s affection and love for the common man. He said the government was pursuing the vision articulated by Benazir Bhutto to address the challenges facing the country by developing national consensus and reconciliation. President Asif Ali Zardari, he noted, transferred his powers to parliament by amending the constitution and made the elected prime minister more powerful, contrary to the past when the president enjoyed absolute powers.

“This is for the first time in history of the country that present democratic government would be completing its constitutional tenure, paving the way for democracy to get further strengthened and underpinned,” Raja said. Referring to the bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, the prime minister said both sides enjoyed good and stable ties, which would get further enhanced in future.

Lauding the role of British Prime Minister David Cameron, Raja said the British premier played a historic role in ensuring Pakistan’s access to European markets. He noted that Cameron’s role was not only positive but also pro-active with regard to Afghan issue. He also referred to the trilateral meeting, recently held in the UK and attended by President Asif Ali Zardari. The prime minister said that Pakistan is getting the largest financial support from the UK for education in the country. There are one million Pakistanis in the UK, he stated, adding that his visit will further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Raja said he would meet his counterpart, David Cameron, on Tuesday (tomorrow) and discuss bilateral and other issues. Recalling the history of diverse systems of government introduced and experimented in the world, he observed that after experiences of decades, it has been realised that democracy introduced by Abraham Lincoln was the most suitable system of government. He termed the British parliament as mother of all parliaments and mother of democracy. The prime minister said democracy is the best form of government as people elect their representatives in this system. Raja said the PPP-led government believes in serving the masses without any discrimination. – DailyTimes