ISLAMABAD: Amid protest and walkout by all opposition political parties, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday gave full marks to the two-year performance of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), showering praise on Prime Minister Imran Khan for withstanding pressure over the Covid-19 strategy.
In his constitutionally-mandatory address to a joint sitting of the parliament on advent of the new parliamentary year, he recounted the performance of the PTI government over the past two years. The president said that after two years of the PTI government, the country was now at the tipping point to be taken forward on the path of progress and development.
He congratulated the parliament for helping the government in passing the important bills aimed at removing the country from the Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) grey list. Alvi continued that all state institutions, the government, the Pakistan Army, the judiciary, and the media, were on the same page as they all had the same goal, which was social, economic, and legal justice.
"We want easy and quick justice for the people and zero compromise on corruption. We also want to overcome all hindrances in the way of the country's development," he declared. Alvi called upon the country's youth to work hard and hold onto the lessons taught by our culture, adding, Pakistan is at a "tipping point and whether anyone sees it or not, you should be able to see that".
The session was attended by the prime minister, services chiefs, foreign dignitaries, however, top opposition leaders, Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, were not present, nor was BNP-M leader Akhtar Mengal due to having contracted the coronavirus.
Shortly after the president started his speech, members of the opposition parties protested and chanted slogans against the PTI government, while the JUI-F staged a walkout shortly after the session commenced, and later all the opposition parties staged a walkout.
However, the president continued his speech, and said that the country was at that point where "it should be reviewed what has been done so far, what should have been done, and what should be done in the future".
He said that the nation has had three lessons in the past i.e. noting that no chance should be wasted to remind the people of Pakistan of what they have learnt, and what they have achieved, and how they are on the way to becoming a great country.
"We all collectively fought terrorism. Pakistan is the only nation that fought terrorism," he added, congratulating the politicians and armed forces for the win for the country.
"We also provided home to the 3.5 million Afghan refugees, we welcomed them with open hearts, and no politician or government spoke ill of them," he added. The president highlighted how, "100 refugees were stranded in the Mediterranean" after "global powers that lectured us on refugees, refused to let them in".
"Pakistan set an example, Pakistan told the world how it lectured us but showed how we welcomed the [Afghan] refugees," he added. Alvi also listed a third victory, the battle against extremism.
"The importance of this one is even more, considering what is going on in our east-side neighbouring country, where extremism is rising," he explained. Alvi underlined how when the incumbent government came into power, there was "a huge burden of debt, corruption was rife, and the economy was on a downtrend."
"The first year, I, too, was worried; people advised me to sign a deal with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] or ask for assistance from friendly nations."
"But whatever we decided has led to positive effects on our economy," he added.
The president lamented how the situation at present was such that "good news is not promoted".
"Our nation is young. Instead of giving it strength, there's more talk in the media and elsewhere of what it didn't do. [This leads to] depression being created that a nation that should be growing ends up losing motivation."
"This is major injustice, and I challenge you here that this is the time when you tell the nation to rise and stand up, instead of telling it that it won't be able to do so," he said.
"I give you the example ...when the coronavirus pandemic hit and there was pressure for a total lockdown. Nations are built based on strong and visionary decisions, not just on science and data but on basis of compassion," Alvi added.
"We made use of foresight. What we did was completely different from all the pressure, all the data, and whatever the rest of the world was doing."
"With regard to the mosques, daily and taraweeh prayers stopped in mosques in 57 Muslim countries but through the SOPs [standard operating procedures], the Ulema - in collaboration with the government - took a good step to allow people to continue praying in the mosques. There was a smart lockdown for coronavirus," he said.
About Eshaas Programme, he said that Rs12,000 each was given to 15.9 million people during the coronavirus crisis. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sehat Sahulat Card covers 100 percent medical expenses, Alvi said.
The government gave 50,000 scholarships to university students in the last year alone, according to President Alvi. He claimed that in the past 17 years, students were given only 23,000 scholarships.
"Despite coronavirus, our economy is improving," the president said, adding that the country's current account deficit had declined to $3 billion from $20 billion. He said that remittances had increased from $20 billon to $23 billion compared to the last year.
Alvi said in tax machinery will achieve collection target. "Your policies are working and your policies are good," said, heaping praise on the prime minister. However, President Alvi requested the government to speed up the process of giving voting rights to overseas Pakistanis, saying they should be able to cast their votes in the 2023 elections.
He lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan for his government's efforts to highlight Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir. The whole country had unanimously rejected the Indian move to revoke the occupied valley's autonomous status, he said.
"PM Khan was uniting the nation in Pakistan, while the Indian government was isolating minorities in its country," he added. Alvi said that Kashmir would soon be freed from the Indian occupation. He thanked Turkey, Malaysia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and other countries for supporting Pakistan's stance on Kashmir. The president also praised PM Khan for his categorical denial to accept Israel by following the vision of Quaid-i-Azam.
OPPOSITION PROTEST
Addressing a press conference outside the Parliament House after walking out of the joint session, PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the people of Pakistan were being "duped".
"What happened to the jobs promised to the youth, the five million houses you said you would build, adding if there had been no pandemic, the people would have gotten rid of the government long ago," he said.
He also lashed out at the president for agreeing with everything like a PTI worker, saying he seemed more a loyalist than being a symbol of federation, and did not deserve the title of president.
He added that the opposition had done the "right thing" by walking out of the session.
"Should we have sat and listened to the lies told to Pakistan? We couldn't sit there, and so we have come outside to tell the nation that [President Alvi's] address was only a need of the parliament. Otherwise, it had no value."
"Everything being said was based on lies, Pakistan is facing difficulties and the people are helpless," he added.
The parliamentary leader of the PML-N in the NA, Khawaja Asif, said that the PTI was celebrating the "two years of the country's destruction" as the time had come the opposition should take practical steps to get rid of the PTI government.
He said that there was nothing in the speech of the president except "lies and lies" as this government has destroyed everything in the country during its two years in power.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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