Sustainable development not possible without sustainable democracy: Qamar

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Naveed Qamar, while reiterating government’s commitment to democracy has said that sustainable development was not possible without sustainable democracy.

The minister was addressing the inaugural session of the three-day 12th Sustainable Development Conference titled ’Fostering Sustainable Development in South Asia: Responding to Challenges’ organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

"The constitution is the backbone of any sustained political movement in Pakistan", he said. The minister noted that "We have seen the judiciary make gains" along with the media, while "Pakistan has made leaps of progress" but that "all these things come together when each institution gels together."

Synergies between different pro-democracy institutions were also of great significance, he added.

The Minister noted a number of important steps in securing progress not only on the economic, but on the political front. The minister pointed towards the government’s commitment to "moving towards greater provincial autonomy", noting progress in the NFC awards and in regards to Baluchistan.

On the economic front, the minister noted that millions of families were taking advantage of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in the current budget alone and noted it as the democratic "secondary impact". In areas "where people were reluctant to get ID cards for women, now they are pressing for NADRA to send their mobile vans". As such, the minister explained, the BISP has the "secondary impact to help to bring out these women for elections, to get them into the electoral systems".