ISLAMABAD, July 18: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday asked the nation to reject religious extremists in the forthcoming local government elections and warned of a bleak future for Pakistan if such elements reached the echelon of power. “From 1999 to 2002 I have selected people, and I believe I have selected the right people for the right jobs by following merit. Now it is your (the nation) responsibility not to elect wrong people and to launch jihad against religious extremists,” the president said while inaugurating the National Youth Convention 2005.

Referring to the London bomb blasts, he said it was against the spirit of Islam and Quran to blow up oneself in order to kill innocent people. The religious extremists and terrorists had given a bad name not only to Islam but to Pakistan as well. These extremists wanted to impose their views on others despite the fact that these self-styled champions of Islam practised ‘hypocrisy’ and seldom followed what they preached, he added.

Gen Musharraf emphasized that Islam was not an issue in the country as 98 per cent of its people were Muslim. But the religious extremists, who could not go side by side with the changes taking place at the global level and who were against the concept of enlightened moderation, wanted to take the country to an age of darkness and ignorance by forcing a Taliban-styled government on Pakistan.

He said the international community hoped that Pakistan could play a leading role in the Muslim world by spreading the concept of enlightened moderation but, at the same time, it feared the transfer of power to religious extremists.

The president recalled that these religious extremists had opposed Sir Syed Ahmed Khan when he started the Aligarh Movement after the Muslims were defeated in the 1857 War of Independence. Later, he said, history proved that a majority of the All India Muslim League leaders were the product of the Aligarh Movement.

He said that in 1940 and in 1947, these religious extremists opposed the creation of Pakistan and degraded Quaid-i-Azam as ‘Kafir-i-Azam’. The same people had also opposed Kashmir jihad in 1948. In 1973, when Pakistan invited Mujeeb-ur-Rehman to attend the OIC conference, these religious extremists still chanted the slogans of ‘Bangladesh not acceptable’. “Now these religious extremists call me Ahmadi and this and that,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, was facing three internal threats: religious terrorism and extremism, sectarianism and provincial disharmony and added that religious extremists had trained their own armies.

“Look at their names like Jundallah, Jaish, etc. How can we afford to have 15 armies in this country? There is no private army in Islam and no one can fight jihad but the government as jihad has a wider scope and grand objectives,” he maintained.

“Islam is not a religion but a complete way of life. We need progressive Islam and not the mere rituals being practised by the religious extremists, who are not aware of their duties to their families and nation,” he said.

He pointed out that Pakistan, the region and the whole world were passing through a critical phase and Pakistan could not live in isolation but would have to walk side by side with the world. “If we want to live in this world and do commerce and trade with other nations we would have to make friends at the international level and if we want to learn modern skills and get scientific education, we would have to take benefits from the experiences of the non-Muslim countries and nations as they have achieved development,” he said.

Some people, he said, were igniting provincial disharmony and wanted to break the country by creating centrifugal forces. “But I warn them not to go against Pakistan. They can go against the government, a person but not Pakistan, otherwise they will be eliminated,” he declared.

Gen Musharraf said that chief ministers of the four provinces had authorized him to announce the sixth National Finance Commission award. In the new NFC award, he said, provinces would get more than what they demanded or were entitled to.

Referring to provincial autonomy, he said he believed that the centre should devolve powers and added that a study was under way to give more powers to provinces.

DAMS: The president said it would be impossible for the proposed Bhasha dam to protect the country against floods as rivers Swat and Chitral joined Kabul river at a point where their water could be stored only by the Kalabagh dam. He said the country would have never faced the ongoing floods had there been the Kalabagh dam.

“Water is a matter of life for Pakistan. In future, wars would be fought on water. Despite having six rivers, the nation is deprived of irrigation water and electricity as the country’s 35 million acre feet water fell into the sea. Those who are against the dams are against Pakistan,” he said.

The president asked the youth to play their due role in the development of the country by understanding the real issues. He said the youth should discourage religious extremism and provincialism and added that they were the future leaders of the country.