KOHAT, June 10: Two days after his Lahore speech in which he criticized religious hardliners, President Pervez Musharraf returned to the theme on Tuesday when he warned that Talibanization was the last thing Pakistan could afford.

“We don’t want the vision of the Taliban. They were narrow- minded people who lacked tolerance. We want a progressive and civilized Islamic society”, Gen Musharraf said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Kohat Friendship Tunnel.

A major part of the president’s speech was on the policies pursued by the MMA government in the NWFP, though he did not mention the ruling six-party religious alliance by name.

Hearing him speak was Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, whose government has recently undertaken a number of steps to introduce what it perceives are Islamic values.

“The issues are not that of wearing shalwar-qameez, putting on the veil, wearing or not wearing a burqa, pasting posters, or enjoying music. These are small issues as far as governance is concerned. This is narrow thinking and has no bearing on governance”, the president said.

He said Pakistan was a predominantly Muslim state and therefore such issues which could hinder progress and development should not be raised.

“It is good if a person has a beard, but he should not tell me that I too should keep a beard. Why can’t we bear with one another?”

President Musharraf pointed out that mere orders would not change the mind and perception of the people. One would have to become a role model for others to follow. “But how can we make the world understand the real values of Islam if we don’t understand them ourselves”, he asked.

“This is the real issue. The issue is not the LFO. The issue is that we all have to decide what we want. Do we want a Talibanized vision of Islam in Pakistan or do we want a progressive and civilized Islamic Pakistan that understands Islamic values? The time has come for Pakistanis to speak out and decide what kind of system they want.”

The president, referring to the opposition’s demand that he should give up his uniform, said: “Let them say that the president should take off his uniform. I will continue to wear the uniform, and there are reasons for that. The issue is not the salute (that I take because I wear the uniform) but the issue is that of Pakistan.”

He said that the government has adopted internal and external policies which have improved the prestige and image of the country as an Islamic progressive state which should be preserved at all costs as it was necessary for our survival.

Gen Musharraf said the West had portrayed Islam as a terrorist, fundamentalist and intolerant religion for obvious reasons. The effort, therefore, should be to try to understand the real essence of religion, which preached peace and harmony with the followers of other religions and sects. He said killing Muslims simply because there was a difference of ideas was no service to Islam.

The president referred to the geographical supremacy of Pakistan over other countries of the region, and said Pakistan was the only link for the Central Asian states through Afghanistan to the warm waters. He said the international community had pledged billions of dollars for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the business community should take advantage of this opportunity. He said that the government would provide basic infrastructure and give economic benefits to the business community.

He announced that work on the Lowari Tunnel would begin in the next four months and the project would be completed within four years. He asked NHA engineers to utilize the experience gained in the construction of the Kohat Tunnel for the Lowari Tunnel project to bring down its cost.

He said work on the Abbottabad-Nathiagali road to connect it with the Babusar Pass and then link it with the Karakoram Highway would bring about a revolution in the lives of the people of those areas.

The president thanked Japan for its help in building the Kohat Tunnel and said Pakistan could never forget the role of Japan in the development of the country. He expressed his and the people’s gratitude to the Japanese government.

Earlier, NWFP governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah dwelt on the various development projects in the communication sector being undertaken by the government. He said the province played a key role in the development of the country and mentioned the Tarbela Dam and Karakoram Highway projects.

The deputy ambassador of Japan, Hiroshi Azuma, in his address said that Pakistan and Japan were big trading partners. He said the government of Japan had pledged $4 billion for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Similarly, $40m had been released to Pakistan as an emergency grant after 9/11, $300m for poverty reduction and loans worth $4.3 billion had been rescheduled. He recalled that the Kohat Tunnel project was approved in 1994 whereas work on it started in 1999.

Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani said the government was developing an alternate route between Pakistan and Afghanistan through the Bannu-Ghulam Khan checkpost which would serve as a main link with the Punjab and businessmen would be able to use it for trade with the Central Asian states.

He said the friendship tunnel would generate Rs90.95 million during the first year alone in the shape of toll tax and the money thus collected would be used for constructing another tunnel in a 10-year span.

He said the government would make every effort to improve the living standard of the people of the area.

Mr Ahmed Ali, Federal Minister for Communication, said the NHA was playing an important role in the development of roads in the country.

The function was also attended by the Federal Minister for Water and Power Aftab Khan Sherpao.