Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that the general elections will be surely held on May 11 and no one should be doubtful about them.
While addressing to a majestic gathering on the occasion of Yaum-e-Shuhda here in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, the Army chief said that the nerve-wreaking game between democracy and dictatorship won’t be finished merely with retribution but can be only finished with the strong participation of masses.
“General Elections would be held in the country on 11th of May. We must not harbor any suspicions or misgivings about it,” said Kayani.
He said that the war against terror is Pakistan’s war and considering it just as the war of military will be like taking the country towards disruption the country, which he said is not in position to experience it again.
Army chief said election is not a solution to problems but is a step towards solution. He said army, in its humble capacity, endeavored to strengthen democracy in the country in five years and all of us should not neglect from our electoral responsibilities.
“If we succeed in rising above all ethnic, linguistic and sectarian biases to vote solely on the basis of honesty, sincerity, merit and competence, there would be no reason to fear dictatorship or to grudge the inadequacies of our present democratic system,” said General Kayani.
“The success of democracy is intimately linked with the wellbeing and prosperity of the Nation,” he stressed.
Army chief termed the forthcoming elections as a ‘golden opportunity’, saying it can steer in an era of real democratic values in Pakistan.
“I assure you, that we stand committed to wholeheartedly assist and support in the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections; to the best of our capabilities and remaining within the confines of the Constitution.”
Regarding war against terrorism, Army chief said that fistula of terrorism and extremism has claimed the lives of thousands of Pakistanis, but our enemies are further extinguishing this fire. He said the questions who started this war and who imposed it over us should be apprehended but today it has become our war and we are its target.
“I would like to ask all those who raise such questions that if a small faction wants to enforce its distorted ideology over the entire Nation by taking up arms and for this purpose defies the Constitution of Pakistan and the democratic process and considers all forms of bloodshed justified, then, does the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war?”
