Govt will have to take bold steps for stability: Musharraf

LAHORE — President Pervez Musharraf said here yesterday that the new political government would have to take very courageous and bold decisions to bring about political stability in the country.
Addressing two separate ceremonies in the city, he said militancy, extremism and terrorism were major challenges facing the country at present and they should be tackled effectively. He said the country was in turmoil for the last one year, hoping that the situation would improve in the near future. The president also underlined the need for promoting energy reserves and enhancing exports for the economic uplift of the country.
Expressing concern over the ongoing terrorist activities, Musharraf said tolerance should be promoted as it was essence of the Islamic teachings.
Hundreds of people have been killed as a result of terrorist activities in various parts of the country during the last few months. Although the government has been trying to track down the culprits, it has not been able to make any breakthrough.
On a day prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, lifted ban on the student unions, the president exhorted the students to stay away from politics and concentrate on their studies.
"You must not get involved in politics as there are many things which are not true but are presented to be true. You cannot understand many things," he said.
There has been a ban on the student unions for the last several years. As a result, the students can’t take part in political activities nor invite political leaders to their functions. Critics have been saying that new leadership cannot emerge in the presence of ban on student unions. The president said the army was playing a vital role in the fields of health and education as a result of which the civilians were benefiting in a big way.
He lauded the role of the new army chief in these areas, and asked him to keep it up. He hoped that the new government would set up energy projects as a result of which industrialisation would get impetus.