All’s well that ends well

• Nawaz, Zardari shower praises on each other at latter’s farewell reception
• Outgoing president says PPP to strengthen Nawaz’ government, country
• PM admires Zardari’s sagacity, struggle for democracy

Another feather was added to the country’s democratic traditions on Thursday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hosting a lavish farewell reception for outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari on completion of the latter’s five-year constitutional term. Zardari becomes the only head of the state democratically elected and offered a send off by an elected prime minister.

The rare event was attended by the National Assembly speaker, Senate chairman, federal ministers, members of parliament, political leaders, the three services chiefs and former prime ministers. To add further colours to the occasion, all leaders of major political parties of the country, including Sindhi and Baloch nationalist parties, were present to grace the event. However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and his comrades refused to be a part of the event, calling President Zardari an “illegal president”.

Only a few months ago during the electioneering process, Nawaz had accused Zardari of involvement in massive corruption and had promised to bring back the embezzled money stashed in Swiss accounts.

However, Nawaz on Thursday showered praises on Asif Ali Zardari and recalled his meetings with Zardari and his spouse late Benazir Bhutto while both the families were in exile.

The two leaders also acknowledged the warmth and support extended to each other despite their political differences for the sake of democracy. Recalling the “pleasant memories” – from the meeting in Jeddah with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, and the signing of Charter of Democracy (CoD) in Dubai to the Raiwind rendezvous, Nawaz said the spirit of “goodwill” prevailed among them for the sake of restoration of democracy.

In return, President Zardari assured Nawaz support from the Pakistan People’s Party, saying, “We will strengthen your government and Pakistan for the next five years. We will return to (traditional) politics when elections are near.”

Nawaz said memories could be both sweet and bitter, but his heart was only filled with pleasant ones, and he wanted to bid adieu to President Zardari with sweet memories.

He said Zardari’s warm-hearted approach during the Jeddah meeting and taking lead in interactions proved that this leader had the intent to turn this social alliance into an important milestone of politics.

He recalled Asif Zardari’s visit to his house at Murree after he gained success in 2008 elections. He said he had extended felicitations to Zardari on his victory from the core of his heart.

The prime minister also paid tribute to Zardari for completing his tenure by upholding the spirit of reconciliation and introducing the spirit of personal rapport and camaraderie in politics.

Nawaz said the credit went to Zardari for sagaciously introducing the 18th Amendment and restoring the 1973 Constitution.

He said the PML-N always promoted the ideology that governments should be formed in accordance with the people’s will and continued the tradition of opposing dictatorship.

“I am saying you goodbye with all the sincere wishes and prayers. I am sure that your party, in your leadership, will continue its democratic traditions. The prosperity of country and its people and strengthening the democracy is our common agenda,” he said.

Responding to the good wishes expressed by Nawaz, Zardari spoke extempore to express his gratitude to the prime minister.

He urged all political parties and the nation to stand united to confront internal and external challenges facing the country. Zardari also warned against internal strife, saying keeping in view the evolving situation in the Middle East and the threats of extremism and terrorism the country faced, “it is vital that there is unity in our ranks and files”.

“The fire raging in the Muslim world is not far from us and we must put our house in order to protect ourselves,” the president said, while referring to the situation in Egypt and Syria. “History will not forgive us if we split and do not act now and do not forge unity,” he added.

“We need to be self-sufficient … we cannot rely on others to come and help us … we have to have the unity and strength to confront the challenges ahead,” Zardari said.

The president said no one should be allowed to exploit internal differences among the political parties or the people, as it could weaken the nation and the country. He said the people of Pakistan would gradually begin to get the dividends and said the measure introduced by PPP would strengthen the nation internally and help it ward off the threats from all quarters.

Zardari said he utilised all his energies to identify the fault lines of the country and took effective measures to help bridge them.

He also acknowledged the role of the PML-N in helping the previous coalition government in achieving the historic milestones by undertaking constitutional amendments, as the PPP did not have the required two-thirds majority to make any change.

The president wished the new government all the best and hoped it would serve the people and overcome challenges.

Zardari thanked the prime minister for the honour and said it was for the first time that an outgoing president was given such an honour by the cabinet.

He also appreciated the new and healthy democratic tradition and urged that the tradition be continued for the sake of democracy in the country.