NA farewell proceedings: PM proposes ‘National Truth and Reconciliation Commission’

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly during its farewell proceedings on Thursday saw a consensus reaching between the government and the opposition on a ‘National Truth and Reconciliation Commission to look back to the history and seek resolution to national issues.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in his last speech on floor of the outgoing Assembly floated proposal of the ‘National Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ and the same was immediately backed by the Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah who spoke next to the premier.

“A National Truth Commission should be constituted to resolve all the national issues, see as to what happened in the history and what lessons were learnt,” the Prime Minister said.

The premier said the task of the Truth Commission should be to bring to forth the correct facts and documents on record. “I am not talking about giving punishment but the Commission should at least bring forth facts and documents on record,” he said. The Prime Minister also called for a national dialogue to improve relations between vital institutions of the country. “The country’s current challenges require a national dialogue to define the civil-military, parliamentary-judiciary and judiciary-executive relations,” the prime minister said. He observed that for purpose of the national dialogue, a consensus needed to be evolved among all institutions including judiciary on constitutional limits. “I demand on behalf of the PML-N a national dialogue to achieve national consensus,” he said.

On the occasion, the prime minister demanded that PML-N and all other political parties would not tolerate a delay of even a single day in holding of general elections. “For continuation of democracy, it is a must that fair and transparent elections are held as per schedule,” he said. He also lauded role of the Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and the opposition leader in the functioning of the National Assembly which is going to complete its tenure by midnight between Thursday and Friday. He said the Speaker’s role is highly laudable as he on many occasion endeavoured to create consensus on many issues.

He said the way the opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah played his role was also unprecedented. “The democracy endured many attacks and some people talked about ending assemblies but the opposition always supported in taking forward the democracy,” he said adding it is only the elected government which could resolve issue facing the country. Highlighting government's performance in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said security situation has greatly improved as our valiant armed forces have successfully defeated the menace of terrorism and restored peace in the country. He said peace was also established in Karachi which is a result of consensus among the political parties and a success story of democracy.

Abbasi said economy of the country has been revamped and a growth rate of about six percent has been achieved. He said today Pakistan has become an investment destination for all foreign and local investors. He said the government initiated projects will ensure sufficient availability of electricity by 2030. He said one hundred and fourteen (114) new gas discoveries were recorded in our tenure. He said today gas is available to every consumer in Pakistan. He said supply of gas will be made available by 2020 through Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the government has brought a revolution in internal and regional connectivity. He said 1700 kilometers long motorways have either been completed or in completion phase across Pakistan. He said the western corridor will open up to Balochistan. The prime minister said the first national water policy was approved with consensus. He said the government has initiated Mohmand and Diamer Basha dams to overcome water shortage in the country. He said Thar Coal is being used for cheap electricity generation. He said Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also a hallmark of our government.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor will offer tremendous trade and economic opportunities for Pakistan which will play an important role in its economic growth. He said on the foreign policy front, we have never compromised Pakistan’s sovereignty. He said Kashmir issue was raised on every forum. “The international community is now accepting our viewpoint on Afghanistan that this issue should be resolved according to the will of the people of that country as war is no solution to political issues,” he said.

Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah in his farewell address backed Prime Minister’s proposal of National Reconciliation Commission. However, he said the task should be left to the next National Assembly. He said completion of the Parliament and government for the second consecutive time is the victory of democracy, which was achieved due to sacrifices of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The opposition leader said he made all out efforts to take all the opposition parties along with him and always tried to stop the trend of abuses in the politics. “I always prefer to do a politics of the issues and for this reason faced a criticism from the government, opposition parties and even from the media,” he said. Syed Khursheed Shah said Benazir Bhutto had resolved to bring real democracy in the country and she sacrificed her life to fulfill a dream to turn the Pakistan into democratic state.

He appreciated Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for playing an active role in the Parliament. He also appreciated Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for his role as the custodian of the House and said that he always acted in support of the opposition and gave ample time to the opposition.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq also delivered his farewell speech in which he requested the House members to spare each other of criticism and advised them to practice the same restraint during their campaigns for the upcoming general elections. "It is the last day of this Assembly; for God's sake, go easy on each other and do not criticise each other," he said. Sadiq expressed satisfaction with the House and the federal government's five-year term, saying: "I am grateful to God that our government is ending. Our five years went well. The Assembly's performance was very prominent."

The Speaker expressed some positive remarks for opposition members. "I am thankful to all members. Farooq Sattar is a parliamentary leader, Mahmood Khan Achakzai did all he could to strengthen democracy, I am also grateful to Sheikh Rashid and Jamshed Dasti as they tried to uphold respect of the Parliament."

Meanwhile, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mamhmood Khan Achakzai regretted that some institutions do not accept the Constitution at all. In his address, Achakzai, who had opposed the Federally Administered Tribal Areas' (Fata) merger with KP, complained that it was done without consensus on the matter.

Dr. Shireen Mazari of PTI, who also acted chief whip of his party, said she learnt a lot during the last five years but said the lack of interest on the part of the government in the proceedings of the House was regrettable. “We take pride that we continued to expose inabilities of the government,” she said. Dr. Mazari also felt that some un-parliamentary and derogatory remarks were used for her but said she wanted to leave the matter to Almighty Allah. “But I still feel the ruling party did not condemn the wrong language used for women in and outside the House,” she said.