The constitutionally elected President Asif Ali Zardari fulfilled the constitutionally mandated requirement to address the joint sitting of parliament.
His reception was markedly different from what his predecessor had been subjected to during his single address in nine years to the joint session of parliament: heckling and taunts interspersed with slogans of 'go Musharraf go'. The fact that President Zardari invited Mian Nawaz Sharif to attend the momentous session, who, in turn, accepted the invitation with alacrity, and after his speech embraced his nemesis, set a positive tone to the entire proceedings.
The seating for the joint session was in alphabetic order and, therefore, unlike a normal session, there was no visible demarcation between the government, its allies, and the Opposition. Be that as it may the speech was marked by applause not only from the PPP loyalists and backbenchers but also members of the Opposition, a fact that may confuse the conspiracy theorists who have been forecasting the battle for Punjab between the two largest parties in the country.
Apart from the cordial atmosphere during the President's speech the actual content left many a listener disappointed. His directive to parliament to form an all parties committee to revisit the seventeenth amendment and Article 58-2(b) appeared to many an unnecessary process fraught with delays, and may bring to mind the maxim that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. The President's perception however was that the setting up of this committee must be viewed as the President giving away his powers - the first time ever.
President Zardari also called on the government to unify and reconcile in the spirit of harmony. He was referring to intra-provincial disharmony, one of the odious legacies of Musharraf's rule, and referred to his apology to the Baloch people and the release of their political leaders from jail as well as changing the name of NWFP to Pakhtoonkhwa as examples of his intent to promote unity and harmony between the centre and the provinces.
President Zardari restated the mantra that he believes in the independence of the judiciary and promised that all matters concerning the judiciary shall be resolved in accordance with the constitution and law. The interpretation of both the constitution and law by the PPP-led government with respect to the independence of the judiciary has divided instead of unified the legal community and national polity.
President Zardari also talked of having a dream reminiscent of Martin Luther King's speech in 1963 when he spoke of his desire to allow blacks and whites to coexist harmoniously as equals. President Zardari's dream was of roti, kapra aur makaan for all - which, he implied, was not attainable in the short run as the 'bitter pill' of ending subsidies had to be swallowed first.
But, he added, the 34 billion rupees budgetary allocation for a no political strings attached Benazir Income Support Scheme, a name that belies the claim of no political mileage, will provide immediate relief to the poorest of the poor. The logistics required to commence this programme are still not complete three months after its announcement in the budget and it is doubtful if they would be completed before the end of the year. The President added that agriculture sector will be our mainstay but he did not outline any specific plan to achieve an agriculture-led growth. He did vaguely refer to the government 'looking at crop insurance schemes'.
President Zardari promised that all energy needs will be met by the end of next year and added that all state allotments, in income support and land, will be made in the name of women. The devil as they say is in the detail and President Zardari provided no details. And while he will have the entire country supporting efforts to meet the promises that he made during his maiden speech to a joint sitting yet the implementation of his promises will be critical in determining the success of his commitments.
President Zardari also referred to understanding the limits of confrontation. He referred to the Charter of Democracy which, he claimed, binds the government to a framework for peace and justice for the people of Pakistan and peace and friendship with India, a reference that Mian Nawaz Sharif may have considered facetious given that he had publicly lamented President Zardari's reneging on many of its clauses; yet one would assume that there is bipartisan agreement over the resumption of the composite dialogue with India. He also justified his decision to invite Karzai for his oath taking ceremony as part of an understanding of the limits of confrontation. President Zardari also named all the world's regions by insisting that his government would either sustain good relations or develop them as in the case of Latin America.
The President also directed the government to hold a national security briefing for an in-camera joint session of parliament. This he stated would allow everyone to make an informed judgement but did not specify if the government would debate the issue in parliament.
And finally the President's condemnation of the US attacks was lukewarm and he stated that 'we will not tolerate the violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity by any power in the name of combating terrorism.' Again it left many dissatisfied who wanted a stronger statement. And those who were waiting for the President to announce his resignation as party co-chairman were also disappointed.
President Zardari will have to learn to give policy statements that provide greater clarity and not stick to those that remain vague. In addition he needs to work on delivery of his speeches - it's not a simple matter of reading from a text but requires the right emphasis and flow.
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