that when the people begin to manage their own affairs in their provinces, their attitude towards their neighboring and other provinces would be that of brotherliness and co-operation rather than that of hostility and separation.
In practical terms, any tendency to consider anyone who does not happen to be born and brought up within the boundaries of a particular province as an outsider will not be tolerated because as a Pakistani he has an inherent right to live, work and prosper in any part of Pakistan.
Talking on the national plane I am glad to tell you that our election machinery has been working with tremendous zeal and efficiency under the direction of the Chief Election Commissioner.
As you are aware a major portion of the work relating to elections has already been completed by, the Chief Election Commissioner and his staff.
By God's help we have been able to keep to our planning schedule for general elections. The forthcoming election day will indeed be a great day for Pakistan and it is my prayer that it will be a precursor of greater well-being and prosperity for this country.
Talking about elections I might add that it is my firm resolves that these elections are free and fair. To ensure that there is no violence, coercion and other mal-practices during these elections, I shall employ all necessary forces at the disposal of the Government. Now I come to a subject which is both important and of interest to all of us. I mean the political activities that have been taking place in this country during the past few months.
My own assessment of this matter is that after a rather over enthusiastic and violent start which in some ways, was understandable, things have, by and large, settled down. Abuse and counter-abuse have decreased and the use of violence is less evident in public meetings and processions and other political activities. The credit for this can be shared equally by the people, the political leaders and the Administration. The people decried violence, the political leaders saw that such methods were counter-productive and the Administration was understanding yet firm. We must not. however, be complacent and must try to see that violence and other destructive practices are completely eradicated from our political activities.
I would like at this stage to make a comment or two on the substance of what has been happening in the political field. Due to various reasons into which I do not propose to go at this stage. I regret to say that the division between parties has tended to become much too sharp. The uncompromising positions adopted by certain parties will have to be changed and tolerance towards each other is essential if the end product of all the activities of these past few months is to be beneficial to the people of Pakistan and is to contribute towards the integrity of this country. In this connection I would particularly like to mention the need for curbing violence and maintenance of law and order. Let there be no mistake on one point. The country is under Martial Law. The Martial Law authorities, under my directions, have been tolerating a number of actions including statements and speeches which no Martial law regime would have ever tolerated.
