Vowing to fight the 'scourge' of terrorism, President Musharraf cautioned the global community against judging Pakistan by 'misconceived' Western standards of democracy.
DAVOS: Vowing to fight the 'scourge' of terrorism, President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday cautioned the global community against judging Pakistan by 'misconceived' Western standards of democracy and dismissed concerns of rigging in the general elections scheduled for February 18.
"We are a victim of misconception and distortion," Musharraf said at a special session during the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of the world's top political and business elite in the Swiss ski resort here.
"I have upheld the Constitution and laws of Pakistan. Please, look at Pakistan from Pakistan's eyes... not with the eyes of your misconceived Western views of human rights and democracy," he said while also addressing Western concerns over the upcoming general elections in the trouble-torn country.
"Obviously, the elections must be fair, free and transparent, and I've added a new word -- 'peaceful'," Musharraf said, adding that "We will make sure they (the elections) are peaceful."
Musharraf also vowed to stop any attempt to disrupt the polls, which had to be re-scheduled after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf also assured the international community that the general elections would be held in a "free, fair and transparent manner on February 18 under the Pakistani Constitution".
"I invite everybody to submit any suggestion to conduct elections in a more free and fair manner, and assure that I will forward the suggestion to Election Commission for implementation," he said adding he was ready to work with any party, elected by the people with an objective of democratic Islamic country.
He also said that Pakistan economy had maintained a growth of close to 7 per cent over the past five years. This year also, it is likely to grow by 6.5 per cent, he said.
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