‘Nation and institutions one against corruption’

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi Thursday said all the state institutions – including the parliament, the judiciary, the executive, the armed forces, and the media – were on the same page for achieving socio-economic justice, rooting out corruption and removing all hurdles in the way of national development.

Addressing the joint sitting of parliament, the president observed that continuation of democracy and democratic traditions was vital for a bright future of the country.

“I am thankful to all the institutions which are active in an organized way to meet economic, social and defence challenges facing the country,” he said. He eulogized the government and said the national economy while braving difficult circumstances was moving towards stability.

“Our economy is moving towards stability and success,which is obvious from the reports of Moody’s and Fitch Ratings, which have declared the economic outlook of Pakistan as stable. This is a good omen for the country,” said President Arif Alvi in his third address to the joint sitting.

The presidential address also marked the beginning of third parliamentary year of the PTI-led government. President Alvi also spoke at length on the government’s policy to cope with COVID-19 with the cooperation of people from all walks of life.

He also lauded the prime minister’s welcoming statement in support of cause of Palestine while condemning India’s actions in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). He also talked about brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey and friendly ties with China.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, KP Governor Shah Farman, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, AJK President Sardar Masood Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Air Chief Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, diplomats, and other dignitaries were among those present in the VVIP galleries.

The opposition parties started their protest even before the start of the president’s speech chanting slogans and then walking out of the House.

PML-N parliamentary leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif and his colleagues stood in their seats and started speaking without mike but they were not given the floor. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not turn up.

President Alvi said the current account deficit had come down from $20 billion to $3 billion, while the foreign exchange reserves had increased from $8.5 billion to $12.5 billion in the last two years.

He observed that following the government’s measures for improving the export sector, exports for the month of July had reached the figure of 1.99 billion dollars compared with corresponding period of the last year. Similarly, tax generation for the last period has reached the figure of Rs3.9 trillion which was Rs126 billion more than the previous years.

He said despite the spread of COVID-19, the Pakistan stock market had crossed the limit of 40,000 points. However, he said Pakistan had paid $9.2 billion in the head of debt servicing in the last two years.

He pointed out that the country had also improved its ranking by 28 places in ‘Ease of Doing Business’. President Alvi welcomed the policy statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he maintained that Pakistan would not recognize Israel until Palestinians got their right.

Talking about August 5, 2019 action of India in the IOJ&K, he strongly condemned Indian efforts to change the population ratio in the occupied territory by trying to convert majority into minority following in the footprints of Israel.

He also appealed to the European Union and human rights organizations to play their role in ending the military siege in IOJ&K and demanded of the United Nations to implement its resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

He also appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan, which resulted in discussion on the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council during the last one year. He said the new political map of Pakistan was of utmost importance, as it verified the two-nation ideology and that Kashmir was the jugular vein of Pakistan as per vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

“We are also thankful to our friendly countries – particularly Turkey, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, and China – for condemning Indian actions in the IOJ&K and supporting Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir,” he said.

Mentioning the serious efforts being made by Pakistan and China for regional peace and stability, President Alvi condemned India’s aggressive designs and activities, which could jeopardize peace efforts in the region.

The president also thanked the Chinese leaders and people for extending their support to Pakistan in defence and economic sectors particularly the CPEC. “I am especially thankful to China for extending their support in the wake of spread of COVID-19 in shape of sending medical experts and equipment and looking after Pakistani students trapped in their country,” he said.

He maintained that Pakistan desired further improvement in relations with Saudi Arabia in different sectors and said Pakistan was thankful to the brotherly Muslim country for its support in difficult times.

President Alvi said Pakistan also wanted peace and friendly relations with neighbouring countries like Afghanistan expressed hope that the peace agreement between the United States and Taliban would result in long-lasting peace in the warn-torn country.

He especially mentioned the role of the judiciary in providing early justice and welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on GIDC issue. He said the nation successfully addressed three issues –terrorism, extremism, and Afghan refugees and praised the role of politicians and the military leadership in coping with terrorism.

He also said Pakistan had accommodated millions of Afghan refugees while those preaching human rights could not keep even 100 refugees. Meanwhile, the combined opposition Thursday termed President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament a ‘pack of lies’ and questioned the reason for summoning the joint session in the darkness of night.

“The session of joint sitting was summoned in the darkness of night and Dr Arif Alvi has no justification to hold the top constitutional slot of the country,” said the PML-N parliamentary leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif while talking to reporters outside the Parliament House.

After registering the protest, the PML-N parliamentarians walked out of the House along with other opposition parties. Khawaja Asif said the government was celebrating the two years of destruction of economy.

“Instead of stabilizing the country, the government has pushed the country towards destruction and has no justification to rule the country,” he said. He said the tales of corruption of rulers were being discussed and alleged that they even helped the sugar mafia to flee from the country.

He said they were thumping the desk here while the people were abusing the rulers over the rising price hike. He said the government had lost justification for which it was brought into power.

Asif said the government had no foreign policy. “The minister is beating the bureaucrat and vice versa so you should take a decision about this government,” he said. PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said no one knew about the joint session of Parliament till late at night and the government did not intimate them in this regard.

He said the president’s speech was a pack of lies in which they painted green with self-praise. “The government performance is worse than the past government,” he said. Ashraf questioned where were those who had to generate 10 million jobs, who claimed to bring down the prices and provide 5 million houses.

He said if the president had come only for praising the government, then it was not the president’s speech but of the PTI. “The government, people, and bureaucracy are on separate paths and seemed to have no link with each other,” he said, adding that the people had lost hopes in the government and it would be better for the country to get rid of the current rulers.

He said the opposition was united and would soon formulate a strategy against the government. Asked about the dates of the all parties’ conference (APC) of the opposition, Khawaja Asif avoided the question. However, Raja Pervez Ashraf said the dates and venue for the APC was being discussed.