NEW YORK: Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari told a gathering of diplomats, parliamentarians and journalists Wednesday night that democracy was advancing in Pakistan and the country was well on its way to economic revival and prosperity.
Bokhari, who is in New York as leader of Pakistani parliamentary delegation to the joint hearing of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations, said although beset with terrorist threats like many countries in the world, the situation in Pakistan was not as bad as was being projected by the media. Pakistan was making progress in all sectors, he said in remarks at a largely-attended dinner hosted in his honour by Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan.
In this context, he especially referred to the first-ever transition from one civilian government to another last year, saying it augured well for the strengthening of democracy. Pakistan was making rapid headway in the economic field because "we want to stand on our own feet" so as not be dependent on aid.
Bokhari said Pakistan was determined to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestation and was taking necessary action to stamp out the menace. But combating the scourge of terrorism required collective response. Pakistan, he said, would cooperate in such an effort.
Pakistan, he said, wanted to see a stable Afghanistan and the relations between the two neighbours were improving. "A stable Afghanistan would have good impact on Pakistan."
About crafting the post-2015 global development agenda, the subject of IPU-UN hearing, he said collaborations with parliaments of the world was necessary in order to make it truly people-centred.
After Ambassador Masood Khan welcomed Chairman Bokhari and his delegation, a number of speakers addressed the gathering. Among them were Ambassador David Donoghue, co-facilitator of negotiations to forge the development agenda, Saber Chaudhry, president of IPU, and Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of IPU.
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