ISB 14-08-2012_Layout 1 8/14/2012 2:51 AM Page 1
65 years of hoping for hope | Pages 02-03
Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 49 19 pages islamabad — peshawar edition
tuesday, 14 august, 2012 Ramadan 25, 1433
On Independence Day, president warns against attacks on constitution Zardari says nation must remain alert to new forms of assaults on constitution and parliament g Says political choices must be made by ballot, not imposed through bullet
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ISLAMABAD: A woman paints the national flag on the face of a girl as the nation will celebrate its 65th Independence Day today (Tuesday). online
ISLAMABAD
Kayani calls for new laws to tackle terrorism KAKUL APP
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has called for formulating news laws to deal with the menace of terrorism and said the entire world had formed new laws to punish the terrorists. Addressing the gathering at ‘Azadi Parade’, he said the war against extremism and terrorism did not belong to the army only, but it was war of the entire nation. “It is imperative that the entire
nation is united and the army could only be successful with the cooperation of people,” he added. General Kayani said until now army and people had rendered great sacrifices at this front for which he paid great homage to martyrs, and their families. He opined that these sacrifices would only be successful when civil administration would be able to take responsibilities without help of armed forces, adding it would take some time but it should be the ultimate goal. The COAS said it was imperative to improve
situation in affected areas. The army along with the government had so far completed economic and welfare projects worth Rs 25 billion. It would also spend as much amount for completion of more projects in the next two years. General Kayani said he realized that it was the most difficult task for an army to fight its own people, but it was done as a last resort. “Our actual objective is that peace returns in these areas and people can live there with peace. Continued on page 04
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APP
ReSIdenT Asif Zardari on Monday said the people must remain alert to new forms of assaults on the constitution and parliament, as he urged the nation to work together and commit to the progress of the country by setting aside mutual differences. In his message on the country’s 65th Independence day, Zardari said that Quaid-eAzam envisioned Pakistan as a country where democracy, constitutionalism and rule of law would reign supreme. “Let us on this day rededicate ourselves to the democratic ideals and principles of the Quaid. Adherence to the principle that political choices must be made by the ballot, and not imposed through bullet, demands that we banish from our midst all forms of bigotry, extremism and militancy,” he said. Zardari said while it was natural to rejoice today in our independence celebrations, it is also an occasion to pause and ponder over whether we have moved towards or away from the ideals for which Pakistan was created. The president said unfortunately for most part of Pakistan’s independent existence, the people were often denied the right to rule and
constitution repeatedly abrogated. He said it was reassuring that the president and parliament unanimously restored to a large extent through the constitution of 1973. “The restoration of the constitution by all political forces and provinces raises our hope that despite setbacks we would revert to our true bearing and restore to Pakistan the values and ideals for which it was created,” he said. Separately, in his message on Independence day, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the present coalition government had undertaken various historic initiatives during the last four-and-a-half years and pursued a policy of reconciliation. The passage of the 18th constitutional amendment empowered the federating units administratively as well as politically. The PPP government is committed to providing an equal status for minorities as citizens of the state, the PM said. “We are confronted with various challenges such as energy crisis, law and order problem, economic difficulties, terrorism, and extremism, which have slowed down the pace of socio –economic development. despite all the difficulties, Pakistan is a vibrant polity where judiciary is independent, parliament is functioning, Media is vibrant and civil society is active,” Ashraf added.