President Zardari vows to protect democracy

President Zardari vows to protect democracy

Updated at: 2152 PST,  Friday, February 19, 2010  ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said Pakistan People’s Party would continue its forward march to strengthen democracy and state institutions and put Pakistan back on the track of socio-economic progress. He said that the economy was showing signs of improvement and the nation was on its way to overcome its difficulties. The President was addressing a meeting of the office bearers and party workers of PPP from Chakwal district here in the Presidency. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minster for Water and Power, Ms Farzana Raja, Chairman BISP, Ms Mahreen Anwar Raja, MOS for Parliamentary Affairs, Senator Faisal Raza Abdi, and MNAs Ms Fauzia Habib and Ms. Farahnaz Ispahani were also present. The President said that PPP knows the value of democracy because it had made big sacrifices for it and it will protect and strengthen democracy at all cost. He said that PPP being the largest political force in the country will seek to take a collective decision on the nature of Local Bodies polls with coalition partners in all the provinces. The President said that 2010 is local bodies election year and asked the party workers to prepare themselves for the forthcoming local bodies elections. He said that local bodies is a provincial subject but we aim at bringing all provinces to a common approach. The President on this occasion directed Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for finalizing the list of candidates for local bodies election in the near few weeks so that the party is fully prepared when the elections to the local bodies are held. “PPP was the only formidable political force with roots in all the provinces and will continue to be a force to be reckoned in the future” the President said and asked the party workers to reach out to the people of their respective constituencies and work diligently for resolving their problems to further penetrate the roots of the party among the common people of the society.