ISLAMABAD – Without naming the armed forces and the judiciary, President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said the government would not let anyone undermine the supremacy of the constitution and parliament and invited all political parties for a national dialogue.
“We will not permit anyone to usurp the powers that rightly belong to parliament. We believe that all state organs should work within their parameters. We need to build a national consensus and tough decisions must be taken together. I invite all political parties for a national dialogue, sooner than later,” he said in his fourth address to a joint sitting of parliament to mark the beginning of the new parliamentary year.
However, the opposition parties had staged a walkout, refusing to listen to the president despite efforts by the government to ensure that they remain present like in the previous years. When the speaker invited the president to address parliament, Leader of the Opposition Nisar Ali Khan wanted to speak on a point of order but he was not allowed.
The PML-N members then stood up and started chanting “no, no, no” for about 10 seconds before walking out. The JUI-F, PML-Q, JI, PPP-Sherpao also joined the walkout. The president’s speech reflected a total disconnect between the people and the government as he clearly missed out the issues they faced.
Zardari did not talk about the contentious issue of Raymond Davis, nor did he mention any government plan to halt the drone attacks. He recounted the achievements of his party’s government. A large part of his address remained focused on the problems the PPP’s government had inherited.
Zardari vowed to fight terrorism and said, “We will fight the militants to the end. We will not back down… we cannot permit the use of our soil for terrorist activities, against any other country… the fight against militancy may be long and bitter … we have no other option except to win.”
Talking abut the country’s foreign policy, the president said, “With the United States, we remain committed to building a long-term partnership, based on mutual respect, mutual interest and sovereign equality. Our strategic cooperation with China continues to grow from strength to strength… long-term cooperation with the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain has helped advance our economic agenda.
The full spectrum dialogue process has been resumed with India and we seek a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions while respecting the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.”
Reaffirming the government’s policy of reconciliation, the president said, “Let us strive to keep our egos aside… let political forces stop challenging each other, merely for political point-scoring as it only weakens democracy in the long run. It is the task of the leadership to unite; not divide … we believe in reconciliation, and not confrontation.”
The president called for building consensus on resolving issues like energy shortage, circular debt, taxation reforms, restructuring of public sector entities and documentation of the economy. However, he said under the government’s privatisation policy the outright sale of national assets and institutions would not be allowed.
“Our policy is based on public-private partnership … shares will be offered for sale, through stock exchanges.” President Zardari strongly condemned desecration of the Holy Quran by a fanatic in Florida and called upon parliament to adopt a resolution urging the UN to address this issue for the sake of harmony and peace in the world.
