Mushahid gives three-point agenda for 'rules of game' formulation

The PML Secretary General, Senator Mushahid Hussain has urged the opposition to strengthen democracy by co-operating with the government to agree on "rules of the game" for the 2007 polls.
Speaking on the budget in the Senate on Wednesday, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that the budget was pro-poor, pro-middle class and pro-people and the incentives given reflected a strong, robust economy.
Speaking on the democratic political culture, he said that the problem in Pakistan was not that of democracy but of the absence of democratic mindset among the political elite. He said that despite wearing a uniform, President Musharraf had a democratic mindset more than the traditional political leaders.
Strongly urging the need for national reconciliation, Senator Mushahid Hussain gave a 3-point agenda for formulation of 'rules of the game' so that the democratic political process should continue and Pakistan maintain its status as the world's freest Muslim democracy.
These 3-points are: convening of All Parties Conference by President Musharraf to discuss the upcoming elections, an independent Election Commission and rules of the game for fair and free elections whose outcome is acceptable for all the political forces.
He said we should learn from history where those trying to destabilise the political process during the tenure of Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ended up destabilising democracy by helping to pave the way for a new military ruler in the form of what he termed as "General Aienda Khan".
He said that in the present circumstances, it was imperative that all the political forces strengthen the democratic political process to agree on 'rules of the game' for continuity of democracy otherwise those who believed in dharnas, agitation and conspiracies would again like 1969 and 1977 end up destabilising democracy. He said that the PML President, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, in his press conference yesterday, had also underlined the need for 'rules of the game' for the forthcoming election and made an offer to the opposition.
He said that the opposition should accept this offer so that democracy could be strengthened in Pakistan and past mistakes were not repeated. The problems of Pakistan require a co-operative approach and collective wisdom since no one party has a solution to all problems, he concluded.