| Thank you for today's statement of the obvious... |
President General Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday the government was working hard for political harmony, but would not be dictated to by a minority. "We are trying our best, but one thing ought to be clearly understood: that there cannot be the rule of the minority. Democracy means the rule of majority, and the rule of majority has to prevail, the rule of minority cannot prevail," Gen Musharraf said at the 15th dinner reception of the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee. "While rapprochement and reconciliation are underway, it does not mean that the minority should rule the majority," he said.The president said Pakistan today had "real democracy" where people's fundamental rights were respected. "An essence of democracy is freedom of speech and expression. Today nobody is put behind bars for their views or criticism in both the print and electronic media - they are not targeted, they are not victimised," he said. On Pakistan-India relations, he said Pakistan was prepared to be flexible in the dispute over Kashmir if India was willing to reciprocate. "We will be flexible, when the other side also shows flexibility. Both sides need to move back from their maximalist positions on Kashmir ... we need to meet somewhere midway," he said.