EDITORIAL: President Arif Alvi's constitutionally-mandated address to a joint session of Parliament at the beginning of a new parliamentary year though predicable for the most part was disappointing in certain respects. As expected, he was all praise for the government's performance in all sectors, some of it well deserved. Referring to the Covid-19 pandemic, he patted the government on the back for handling the situation in a "very good manner". The decision to resist calls for a strict lockdown and to go for smart lockdowns had worked fine, he said. As for those refusing to acknowledge success of this policy giving credit instead to some unspecified 'X factor' he referred to a relevant example. Despite having similar genetic and climatic conditions, he said, India faces a serious situation, pointing out that on Wednesday that country reported 60,000 new coronavirus cases as against Pakistan's 600. Despite the Covid-19 challenge, he stated, the economic situation looks good. The current account deficit has come down from $20 billion to $ 3 billion, and "our ratings by Moody's and Fitch have improved. ... This shows that the government's policies are working, and had the coronavirus not emerged, it would have managed to take the country to new heights." These trends are grounds for optimism, but it is too soon to make tall claims. Going forward entails several risks.
Turning to the foreign policy, the President averred that it has been set in the right direction amid a challenging international and regional scenario. Indeed, at a time geostrategic realignments are underway Pakistan is moving in the right direction: mending fences with nations in the near and extended neighbourhood, helping Afghanistan reach a negotiated settlement of its decades long conflict, and strengthening strategic and economic ties with a tried and tested friend, China. And of course, he lauded the Prime Minister for his steadfast advocacy of the Kashmir cause, as well as his recent statement that Pakistan would not recognize Israel until the Palestinian issue is settled. A pro-active policy aimed at highlighting the human rights crisis in the disputed region and internationalizing the Kashmir issue seems to be making considerable progress. Although there are some people who find merit in recognizing Israel, it is hard to see any benefit except pleasing its patron, the US, with which Pakistan cannot expect to have something better than the present working - actually transactional - relationship, the US being a strategic partner of this country's arch rival, India.
Admittedly, the President's customary address to Parliament is supposed to reflect government thinking, but without creating unnecessary controversies, He can also advise the government on issues that call for improvement. Unfortunately, in the present instance, President Alvi chose to censure the media - already under unsavoury pressures - for not highlighting "positive news". As society's watchdog independent media in a democracy has an adversarial relationship with the government, its role being not to sing the government's praises but to point to its act of omission and commission. He could have done better, particularly when the minister for planning and development, Asad Umer, has publicly admitted the PTI government's failure in handling the media, by calling on the government to show tolerance for adverse opinion rather than looking for ever new ways to curb freedom of expression. Similarly, even though the opposition did not act in a responsible fashion by staging a walkout during his speech, it would have been in the fitness of things for the President to advise the government to try and have at least a functional approach toward the opposition.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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