RAWALPINDI (May 14 2007): President General Pervez Musharraf on Sunday categorically stated that emergency would not be imposed in the country as there was absolutely no environment for taking such a drastic decision. He was speaking after performing the ground- breaking ceremony of 165 MW power plant at Attock Generation Limited in Rawalpindi. He assured that there was absolutely no requirement of such a decision.

The President said free, fair and transparent elections would be held in the country and a new government will come into power as a result of these elections. He hoped that the emergence of a new government of moderates would show supremacy of moderate forces in Pakistan.

He said let there be unity and peace and let Supreme Court of Pakistan, which he held in the highest of esteem, would decide in the interest of state and in the interest of absolute justice.

The President emphasised that we must stop taking these issues to the streets and making it a political issue. He said the country is short of energy today and the government would meet the challenge of economic boom by importing energy from all sources and also indigenous generation. He said a short and long-term energy policy is being pursued in this regard.

The President emphatically said the country also needs nuclear power generation which is its right. He said Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas project would be a major breakthrough and a win-win situation for all the three countries.

He said Pakistan would go-ahead with the project even if India is not onboard as country's shortfall in energy is rapidly growing.

The President said Pakistan is also finalising an agreement with Iran to buy 1,000 MW of electricity from Iran for ensuring supply to many parts of Balochistan. He said Pakistan is also studying a proposal to import electricity from Kyrgyzstan.

The President said the power gap between demand and supply is on the rise because of the economic upsurge. He said industrial estates and factories are coming up in many parts of the country and the foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to cross $6 billion marks in the next fiscal year.

He said Pakistan has been maintaining the average 7 percent of GDP in the last few years and the volume of economy has seen a quantum jump from sixty-two billion dollars He said the per capita income has also doubled and country's debt to GDP ratio is very healthy by European standards.

The President said various bonds the country floated in the international market were oversubscribed which shows the confidence of the international investors in Pakistan's economy.

Water and Power Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi said the government is committed to meeting the energy requirements of the industrial and agricultural sectors as well as the fast growing urban and rural population.

The Chief Executive Attock Group of Companies and the Chief Executive Officer of the Attock Generation Limited gave details about the 165 MW power plant being set up at a cost of $160 million.

Copyright Pakistan Press International, 2007