ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said that the address of President Mamnoon Hussain to the joint sitting of parliament was balanced and comprehensive.
Talking to APP on Wednesday in parliament’s lobby, he said this was an important occasion as the democratic government has completed three years and entered its fourth year.
Lauding the address, Sartaj said the president had outlined guidelines and
appreciated the positive policies of the government. The president has touched every aspect right from energy production to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said democracy was being strengthened, adding the nation was committed to promoting democratic culture in the country.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah termed the president's address to Parliament disappointing and stereotyped.
"I say that the president's address was highly disappointing, it was stereotype. The president said nothing about Panama Leaks issue, drone attacks and corruption and other vital issues. He should have talked about national sovereignty, Shah said while talking to media persons outside the Parliament House on Wednesday.
Such a thin attendance of parliamentarians was witnessed for the first time, he said. "The president talked about elimination of loadshedding but currently it is much worse than what it was during our tenure, he said. Loadshedding has been eliminated only in the Presidency and not anywhere else," he added.Commenting on the president's address, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq said that the address to the joint session was disappointing as the president had simply showered praises on the government and had not uttered a word on the problems facing the country and the nation.
Sirajul Haq said that a countrywide movement was continuing against corruption but the president had neither talked of this burning issue nor had given any proposal on this score. The president's address did not provide a roadmap for the protection of the country's sovereignty or against the drone attacks, he said.
"One wonders what made the president to remain silent on the issue of drone attacks," he added. He said the president had not given any proposal for solving the economic and social problems of the common man nor had he touched the problems of the tribal people and the IDPs. The president had also not mentioned the failures of the government on the foreign front, he added.
The JI chief said that the president represented the federation and not the government and was the head of the state and his address should be befitting his status. However he said that instead of commenting on the performance of the government during the last three years the president had presented a one-sided picture by beginning his address with the praises of the government and winding it up on the same note.
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Rehman Malik said that President Mamnoon Hussain did not touch many issues in his speech to the joint sitting. The president did not touch issues being faced by the common people and in his address there was no talk of giving any relief to masses, Rehman Malik said this while talking to APP. The senator said president should speak candidly on the country’s foreign and internal policies which were ignored in crucial address to Parliament. It was goodwill gesture by the opposition parties in Parliament that a platform being provided to the president for address, he remarked. He said opposition will never compromise on the national issues.
Rehman said everybody could easily note the lack of interest of treasury benches in president’s speech and their thin presence in the House. To a question, Malik said death of Mulla Mansoor on the soil of Pakistan was a conspiracy to defame the country. Senator Mushahidullah said that President Mamnoon covered all foreign and internal issues in his speech.
Talking to newsmen here at the Parliament House, he said the president highlighted all the issues including sacrifices in the war against terrorism, temporary displaced persons, corruption and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
He lauded the president for stressing the need to resolve the core issue of Kashmir. The relations with Afghanistan Iran and other countries were also highlighted, he added. He addressed the parliament once in a year and the opposition should have shown maturity during the speech, he added.