Three special envoys of the Pakistan government on Thursday stoutly defended President Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose the state of emergency, saying it had to be done to put the country back on the democratic track.
The envoys - Dr Nasim Ashraf, Mohammad Ali Saif (federal ministers) and Kashmala Tariq, a former member of the National Assembly - also said that government was determined to hold free, fair and transparent elections on January 8, as scheduled, despite the boycott threats by some politicians.
They said the emergency rule had helped bring the security situation almost under control, the democratic process was on and the president had already announced that the state of emergency would be lifted and the PCO would stand annulled by December 16.
The three-member team had a long interaction with Pakistani journalists based in New York followed by a similar session with the members of the Pakistani community at the Pakistan House. Earlier, the envoys, who are here on a mission to explain to "US policy-makers and opinion leaders" the reasons for the emergency rule, had discussions with the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. They were also interviewed by CNN, FOX News and BBC.
During the sessions with Pakistani journalists and community members, they were confronted with a host of questions that focused on the imposition of emergency and the government actions that followed in the wake of it.
Dr Nasim Ashraf, minister of state and chairman of the National Commission for Human Development, said the decision to imposing emergency was the "most difficult and unpalatable", but it had to be taken to save the country from chaos.
Apart from growing acts of terrorism, he said that some elements of the judiciary tried to derail the democratic transition. Dr Ashraf said it was necessary to stop state institutions from clashing with each other, including judiciary, executive and parliament, and to deal with the rising trend of terrorism.
He said some elements in the media also misused the freedom and to overcome the situation, extraordinary measures were needed, as half-hearted efforts would not have brought the desired results.
In this regard, Dr Ashraf and Barrister Saif took pains to explain the reasons behind the action taken against some sections of the media and the need to work out a code of ethics for the responsible running of these institutions.
Without mentioning their names, Dr Ashraf said some private TV channels played a negative role. They added fuel to the already poor security situation and also exploited the political crisis. But, he said the situation was now returning to normal, a claim contested by some journalists.
Dr Ashraf spoke at length on the achievements and progress made by Pakistan under the Musharraf regime contrasting it with the poor conditions before he assumed power.
He said the people were empowered in real terms with special reference to increasing women share in the democratic process, minorities and also youth participation in the country's political process increased. Tariq told her compatriots to sink their differences and united to project a positive image of their homeland, calling them the true ambassadors of Pakistan.