CHAKWAL: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Saturday that nobody could derail democracy and that general elections would be held on time.

Addressing a big public meeting here, Mr Ashraf said the military and politicians agreed on the need for democracy.

“By the grace of Allah, today all politicians of Pakistan want democracy. Today the media and judiciary talk about democracy and by the grace of Allah the army has emerged as the protector of democracy,” he said.

He said that elections would be held on schedule at any cost.

The coalition government had completed its tenure of five years and elections would be held after a few months, the prime minister said.

“Today I want to tell the people of Pakistan that elections will be held on time at any cost. Delay of a single day will not occur,” he said.

Mr Ashraf said that democracy would mature with the passage of time.

“I also want to assure you that democracy is the voice of the heart of this country and the people of Pakistan love democracy.”

He said that the completion of the government’s five-year term would strengthen democracy in a way it would never come to harm. “Democracy is the sole way and it is people’s right to choose their rulers,” he said.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said only democracy was the future of Pakistan and no one would be allowed to snatch the future of this country.

He said that Benazir Bhutto vowed in 2008 that all political parties should be respected and everyone should be on board in the democratic process and the PPP, under the command of President Zardari, had acted on this philosophy. “We have completed our tenure in difficult circumstances because we acted on the vision of our martyred leaders,” he said.

The prime minister inaugurated two mega projects for Chakwal district along with a number of other projects.

The Minister for Communications, Dr Arbab Alamgir, Sardar Salim Haider, PPP’s Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo, District President Shahjhan Sarfaraz Raja, Raja Sanul Haq, MNA Palwasha Behram and MPA Fauzia Behram of the party were also present.

Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi did not come as he was not feeling well, but a close aide of his in the district, Hafiz Amar Yasir, attended the rally along with hundreds of his supporters.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf inaugurated a mega project for gas provision to a number of villages.

The project would be completed at a cost of Rs1,103 million.

The PM also laid the foundation of another mega project of Neela Interchange, which would be completed at a cost of Rs162m.

The interchange, which would be built at the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway near Neela village, some 40km from here, would be completed in 15 months. It will be the 22nd interchange on this patch of the motorway.

After inauguration of development projects, the PM addressed a public meeting.

“It is an honour for me that I’m present among you on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” he said. “Chakwal is my home and I am proud that I belong to this land”.

He said that unfortunately politics in the Potohar region had been run in a single direction, but now the situation would change.

“The People’s Party knows how to give rights to people,” he said.

“The PPP, along with the PML-Q, will change the fortune of the Potohar region,” he said.

The crowd cheered the PM when after a brief speech in Urdu he switched over to Punjabi language, laden with delicate Potohari accent.

He said that after becoming prime minister he did not initiate such projects as could only benefit his home-town Gujjar Khan. The projects inaugurated by him would benefit the entire Potohar region, Pervez Ashraf added.

“I say it with pride that Mandra-Chakwal and Chakwal-Sohawa roads will be turned into the best roads of the world,” he said.

Work on dualisation of the two roads has commenced at an estimated cost of Rs8bn.