The visiting members of young British politicians delegation were of the view that free and fair elections in Pakistan were necessary for restoring democracy.
A seven-member multi-party delegation of young British politicians comprises Gareth P. Smith, Richard M. Stephenson, Kabir A. Sabar, Ellen S. Kelly, Colin P. McGrath, Colin A. Ross and Anna Wright of the Labour, Conservative parties participated in a dialogue arranged by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) here on Saturday.
Pakistan side was represented by a number of young politicians and students including Dr Donya Aziz MNA of the ruling party, Palwasha Behram General Secretary Foreign Liaison Committee of the PPP, Inayat Ullah Khan, NWFP Health Minister, political analyst Marvi Memon, Mariam Raza Zaidi and Syeda Quratul Ain of Quaid-e-Azam University.
In the final round of their dialogue, British politicians emphasised that 2007 polls should not be postponed, as these were essential for bringing a pure democratic government in Pakistan.
Gareth P. Smith of the Labour party said that during all the previous dialogues held in provincial metropolis, people showed a lot of reservations about the present elected government.
He wondered that in Islamabad most of the people have opposite view and they think that the present government is "democratic".
However, he regretted the dual standard of the US saying that on one hand the US is not recognising free and fair elections in Palestine and on the other it is extending its full support to the military-led Pakistani government.
British politicians dispelled that there is any clash of civilisation between the Muslims and the West. They termed it as 'clash of misconception' which need to be discussed and removed amicably.
Gareth said "we admit that Kashmir is an unresolved dispute between Pakistan and India and both countries must resolve it peacefully'.
He also wished that the United Kingdom must play its role in solving the problem that had been created by the colonialism. Colin A. Ross of the Liberal Democrats party said that all the issues including Kashmir and Palestine must be resolved and the United States could play a significant role in this regard. Dr Donya Aziz MNA of the ruling party defended the government saying that democracy is flourishing in Pakistan. While President Musharraf is an elected leader.
She said that for the first time a democratic culture was taking roots in Pakistan.
NWFP health minister said that Western countries should review their policies about Muslim countries to root out the differences between the two major blocks.
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