'Actions Speak Louder Than Words'

Pakistan President's Address to the Nation on Thursday, July 21, 2005

"My Dear Countrymen!

It has been long since I addressed you last time. A number of developmentsand incidents have taken place in our region, around the globe and the Muslimworld. And internally, we are passing through a delicate phase in our history. Ithink at this stage the nation needs unity and understand the issues in theirproper perspective. So I thought that I should address you.

I would like to review briefly the regional and international situation andthe state of affairs in the Muslim world. I would also like to dwell on internalmatters.

We need to talk about the world because we or for that matter any othercountry does not exist in a vacuum. We have to have contacts and maintainrelations with the world. We have to develop trade and economic ties with themembers of the international community. I believe that without maintainingrelations with other country no country can achieve development and progress isnot possible otherwise.

If we look at the world, we see it passing through a turbulence. Bomb blastsand suicide bombings are taking place. A number of innocent lives are being lostall around. Upon examination we will find out that it is the Muslims who are theperpetrators and it’s the Muslims again who are suffering. This is ourmisfortune.

It is all the more regrettable that whenever such incidents of terrorismhappen, our country directly or indirectly gets linked to these acts ofterrorism. The accused may either have lived here, passed through our country ortravelled to Afghanistan through our territory. This is a matter of graveconcern and sadness for me.

I see these incidents as tarnishing the image of Islam in the world and theworld is beginning to see Islam as sanctioning intolerance, extremism andterrorism. I refute this kind of thinking and strive to project Islam in itstrue perspective as a religion which gives message of peace and brotherhood. Butas they say in English that actions speak louder than words. Actions outweighwords due to which the religion is being subjected to disrepute.

Recently, an act of terrorism occurred in London. We condemn it verystrongly. I think whosoever are involved in this act are not human beings.Because, if they are carrying out these acts in the name of Islam, we know thatkilling of one innocent person amounts to murder of the entire humanity. I failto understand as to what kind of Islam are they following.

The question is who is at the receiving end. It is Pakistan and thePakistanis living there who are suffering.What have the terrorists achieved fromthese acts? Infamy, disrepute and exacerbation of the plight of the Muslims.More trouble for the Muslims. This is what they have managed to achieve. I am ata loss to understand their strategy.

At this point I would like to say something in English.

I would like to send a message to Prime Minister Tony Blair and hisGovernment. We very strongly condemn this act of terrorism. I don't think thatthe perpetrators of this act can be called human beings. We stand together inthis struggle and fight against terrorism to the end until we emerge victoriousagainst them and eliminate them.

Having said that I would like to express some concern at aspersions in themedia being cast on Pakistan. We certainly have a problem here which we aretrying to address very strongly. But may I say that England also has a problemwhich needs to be addressed.

Three out of the four accused people in London bombings are accused to bePakistanis. The fourth one is from Jamaica. I really dont know if the aspersionon three Pakistanis is that they got indoctrinated when they came to Pakistan,where did the Jamaican got his indoctrination. The other issue that I would liketo raise is that these three, if they are Pakistanis they are from Pakistaniparentage, they happen to be British. They had been born, bred and educated inEngland.

There are extremist organizations in the United Kingdom - Hizbul Tahreer andAl-Muhajaroon, who operate with full impunity in that area.They had the audacityto pass an edict against my life and yet they operate with impunity. I know thatthey also give sermons of hate, anger and violence. Therefore, I would like tosay that there is a lot to be done by Pakistan and may I suggest that there is alot to be done in England also.

The correct strategy to deal with this is to encourage and support each otherrather than speaking against each other and weakening the overall cause. As Isaid we are together in the fight against terrorism, we need to remain togetherand fight it together.

Now I want to speak about the Muslim Ummah. A look at the Muslim Ummah wouldreveal that it is mired in abysmal conditions and is in turmoil. It is on adescendant course, going from bad to worse with the passage of time. We possess70 per cent of world energy and 40 per cent of natural resources. Yet we are thepoorest, the most illiterate and lag behind in the social sector.

This is a knowledge-based world. If any country sets upon scaling progress,it has to do so by acquiring expertise in science. The situation in Pakistan hascome to such a pass that when we ask madrassas to teach science subjects totheir pupils they say we will imparting religious education alone.

So how can we move forward in such a scenario. I would like to remind thesemadrassas that the word "Ilm" has been used 800 times in the HolyQur'an. After words Allah and Rub, this is the most frequently used word. Ilm isalso worldly ilm. So we should teach our children both religious and worldlyknowledge so that the graduating students may join the mainstream of nationallife and take up professions of choice.

Pakistan's future and destiny is linked with the Islamic Ummah and that iswhy I would like to talk about it. That is also essential we are an Islamiccountry. Not only that but Pakistan is the only ideological country, carved outfor the Muslims of the region. Therefore, we are the most important part of theMuslim world.

In addition to that Pakistan is playing a pivotal role in the fight againstextremism and terrorism. Because of this very fact, we should focus our energyon steering the entire Muslim Ummah forward.

Now I would like to talk about the region which I consider necessary in viewof what we have gone through during the last 26 years. The world knows littleabout what we have gone through. Unrest in the region started in 1979 whenRussia entered Afghanistan and at that time the West and the US started a Jehadagainst Russia. Pakistan played a central role in this Jehad, which was theright thing to do because Pakistan at that time was concerned by the Russianintervention. We were facing threats on two fronts at that time as on theEastern side the danger already existed while Russia's desire to head towardsthe warm waters also created threat on our western border. That is why ourdecision to wage a jehad along with our allies against Russia was correct.

But who were involved in this jehad and who fought the war. First of all wereAfghans themselves followed by 20,000 to 30,000 Mujahideen who were brought fromvarious Islamic countries . They were given training, weapons, money -everything- through Pakistan and were sent to Afghanistan. The third party werethe Taliban who were provided training in Pakistani Madrassahs. They were givenweapons and sent inside Afghanistan. These were the people who were waging Jehadin Afghanistan, which continued for ten years. These people kept on fightingagainst Russia while the West, the US and Pakistan continued to help them.Russia was defeated after ten years and went back but the other countries whostarted this Jehad also left, leaving everything behind and Pakistan was leftalone to face the situation on its own.

And then what happened - afterwards a civil war broke out in Afghanistan andall the tribes started fighting each other and the country was destroyed. Andwhat was the result. First of all four million Afghan refugees poured intoPakistan and the second thing was the Taliban factor, which emerged on the scenein 1995-96. And the third thing - those 20,000 to 30,000 mujahideen whathappened to them as they dispersed-some of them remained in Afghanistan whileothers entered Pakistan. There was a huge cache of weapons and ammunition in theborder areas of Pakistan which had very serious repercussions on our society.From 1989 to 2001, the situation remained the same and at the same timeindependence struggle also started in the occupied Kashmir, which also impactedon our society. Then the 9/11 incident took place and the operation started bythe allied forces had a separate implications for our society. The civil warstill continues for the last 26 years – 1979 to 2005- on our western borderand since 1989 i.e for the last 16 years, the struggle for independence is stillcontinuing on our east in Kashmir which also had a very serious and negativeimpact on our society. This introduced the Klashnikov culture in Pakistan andthe al-Qaeda came to our cities and mountains.

Besides, dozens of the Mujahideen organizations surfaced who were openlyrecruiting and training the common citizens. Funds and donations were beingcollected to buy weapons. Jehadi literature had been published in this regionfor the last 25 years. It has all been happening in our society for the last 25years and its all happening in this region. All this had a negative impact onour society. On top of it, some political elements, political parties andindividuals are trying to gain political mileage out of this situation.

I want to ask a question from these terrorists and extremists, what is theirobjective and what do they want to achieve. Do they want supremacy of Islam, dothey want to win. Do they think that they will be victorious and take Islam toits glory. If they think this, they are mistaken. They will get nothing out ofthese acts of terrorism and extremism. The only thing, they will earn, is a badname for Islam and destruction and devastation of Muslims.

I would like to ask a question from my Pakistani brothers and sisters, shouldPakistan play a role in bringing about improvement in the region, the world andthe Ummah. Do we have the capability? Do we want to do this? In my view, we canhelp take the Ummah, the world and this region towards peace and prosperity. Andwe should play this role so that the stature of Pakistan is enhanced. We allknow that this world is for the entire humanity and is a common heritage. Weshould make efforts for the betterment of this world, for our next generation,otherwise they will have to pay the price. We should help resolve the politicaldisputes affecting the Ummah. We also need to play our role in improving thesocio-economic conditions of the Ummah. Therefore, with these thoughts that inthe Muslim Ummah and in the world, Pakistan has a role that we should play, withthis thought in mind, I presented a strategy of enlightened moderation. It is atwo-pronged strategy. One prong of the strategy requires the Muslim Ummah toreject terrorism and extremism and raise voice against them.

And, at the same time, we should concentrate on socio-economic developmentand prosperity of its people to take the Ummah forward. The Ummah, instead ofgoing on a descending course, should move on an ascending course. Under thesecond prong, we demand from the West and the United States to help resolve allpolitical disputes involving the Muslim Ummah, with justice. And this is theresponsibility of the West and the United States to do this. And not only this,they should also help in improving the socio-economic conditions of the MuslimUmmah.

In my view, this strategy spells a win-win situation for all and especiallyfor the Islamic Ummah. It will put the Ummah on the ascending course and willhelp address the political disputes and our socio-economic conditions will startimproving. I am very happy and proud to note that OIC in its last meetingaccepted our strategy of enlightened moderation and a commission of eminentpersons was constituted. From Pakistan, Sayed Mushahid Hussain is among the tenmembers of the Commission. They already have three sittings of which one held inPakistan. They have prepared their recommendations. These recommendations arethat the OIC should be given a new dynamic face, it has a new name, it has a newcharter.

In my view, OIC should have a separate department of Islamic thought whichshould consist of knowledgeable, educated scholars who could explain the truespirit of Islam to the Ummah and to the World as to what is real Islam and itsreal direction.

I am very happy that OIC foreign ministers in their recent meeting haveaccepted these recommendations. There will now be a special OIC summit in Makkah.If all OIC leaders together sign these recommendations in the Khana-e-Ka'aba,this will be a major event. It is my endevour to take the Ummah in thatdirection. We also desire that peace comes to our region and that is why we areholding talks with India and want to seek a justified solution of all thosedisputes, which in the past led to many a wars between the two countries. Thedispute which tops the list is the issue of Kashmir, which we want to solveaccording to the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. In this regard I wouldlike to say that I am very hopeful that we will be able to solve the disputesand to bring complete peace in the region. I have talked about Ummah, peace inthe world and peace in this region.

Now I would come to the internal situation. To begin with I will very brieflytouch upon what we have achieved in the past five years. Pakistan's stature hasgrown internationally and we have an international standing, we also have animportant position in the Ummah. Our economy has strengthened and we have laidthe foundations for a long lasting democracy in the country and I hope thatdemocracy would not derail in future. Now my whole attention is towardstransferring those benefits on to the people of the country and I willpersonally work for the prosperity and betterment of the people. I will see toit that poverty, unemployment and inflation decline. I will solve the waterissue. The lining of the water courses is costing Rs 66 billion and I ampersonally supervising it. Besides we will also solve the issue of big dams. Iwill also focus on providing quality education and health facilities at thelowest tiers. The provision of clean drinking water in this regard is veryimportant and absence of clean water is a serious issue and 60 per cent ofdiseases are related due to contaminated water. The government has thereforedecided that by year 2007-08 people of all villages will get clean drinkingwater. By this time every village should also get electricity. These are theareas where I am focusing my attention so that the results of economic progressreach down to the masses.

Now the question is what we have to do in future? We have to do two things,first to bring about provincial harmony and the second to bring about religiousand sectarian harmony in the society. These are major problems which we have tosolve. These are eating us from within like termite. In the area of provincialharmony there have been neglect and mistakes and now we are tackling those.Development works in the smaller provinces are being taken up in the smallerprovinces and the major portion of the funds in this respect are being spent onthese. The small provinces have demanded NFC award. I am pleased to note thatafter my talks with the four Chief Ministers, they have expressed theirconfidence in me and said that whatever decision I take, it will be acceptableto them. Insha Allah, this issue will be solved soon.

As far as the provincial autonomy is concerned, the parliamentary committeeneeds to review the concurrent list and I am sure that a just solution will befound with consensus from all the provinces. These are all positive aspects andI am hopeful that there will be enhanced provincial harmony and they will begetting their rights with justice.

Now I will talk about the issue of big dams, which I have to solve, and InshaAllah I will do it. I have hopes from all Pakistanis to support me. If you notethat this year there have been flood in River Kabul, River Swat, River Chitraland all of this water spilled into the oceans and went waste. This water couldnot have been stored at Bhasha dam, as it is up in the North as River Kabuljoins River Indus in Attock. Had we gone for the Kalabagh dam, not only thiswater would have been stored for future use but we would also have beenprotected from the floods. We could have used the water for irrigation and forour future agricultural needs. I appeal to all my Pakistani brothers and sistersto support me, particularly those of Sindh and NWFP to extend their support andI assure you that whatever decision I take that will not only be in the bestinterest of the country but also for Sindh and NWFP.

Now I come towards another complicated matter to bring about sectarianharmony and peace in the society. Now I would like to talk about things relatingto our religion. I am not a scholar but no one should, either, doubt my Islamicintegrity. I am a Sayed. Secondly Allah Almighty has bestowed me with theblessings which very few people have been. Whenever I went to perform Haj orUmra, the doors of 'Khanna-e-Ka'aba were opened to me and I went inside KhannaKa'aba six times. And on one of these occasions the "door offorgiveness", which is inside the Khana Kaba, was also opened for me and Iraised "Allah-o-Akbar from the rooftop of Khanna Ka'aba from where HazaratBilal (RA) called for prayers (Azan), the very first time. And whenever I payrespects at Madina Sharif, the doors of "Rooza-e-Rasool" (Peace BeUpon Him) are opend for me and I am honoured to have gone inside theRooza-e-Rasool six times and offered prayers. Allah Almighty blessed me withthese opportunities. So, therefore, neither anyone should doubt my Islamicintegrity nor should there be any criticism on it.

The first thing I want to say is that there is no issue over religion inPakistan. In Pakistan there are 98 per cent Muslims.

Pakistan is an ideological Islamic state. It has been created for the Muslimsof this region. Islam is in our blood, it is our spirit, our life, it is ourexistence and no one should have any doubt about it. The question is not ofbeing a good or bad Muslim, only Allah Almighty know this. The question is whichand what Islam Pakistan should have. Is it Islam of ignorance, or that of theTaliban, which pushes us towards darkness, or Islam of old rituals. Or is itIslam of lofty ideals, strong character and the one that guides us in our dutiesto society and the country. Islam is more than a religion, it is a way of lifeand is a religion which makes us realize our duties towards people more than ourduties towards Allah Almighty.