ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday gave full marks to the Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led coalition government in all sectors, including economy, health, education and foreign policy, and especially lauded Prime Mini­ster Imran Khan’s approach in handling the Covid-19 pandemic which, according to him, set an example for other countries.

Delivering his yearly and constitutionally mandatory address to the joint sitting of parliament in the absence of the opposition parties, the president felicitated the government on its second anniversary and said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had performed remarkably in all the sectors with all indicators showing an upward trend.

The walkout by the opposition parties after a noisy protest for a brief period virtually turned the joint sitting into an internal gathering of the ruling coalition partners and provided the president an opportunity to speak with full confidence, and extempore at times, amid slogans and desk-thumping by the treasury members, including Prime Minister Khan.

Members of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) staged the walkout soon after Spea­ker Asad Qaiser formally invited the president to the dais for the speech, whereas the lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stayed in the house for a few minutes and raised full-throated anti-government slogans, before going out to address a news conference outside the Parlia­ment House in which they criticised the government for convening the joint session on less than 24-hour notice.

President Alvi began his speech by addressing the protesting opposition members, stating that he was expecting that unlike previous year, this time the opposition would listen to him without making noises.

Says state institutions on one page; lauds PM’s approach in handling Covid-19 pandemic; opposition stages walkout after noisy protest for brief period; Shahbaz, Bilawal skip joint sitting

Besides Leader of the Opposition and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari also skipped the joint sitting, which also marked the beginning of the third parliamentary year of the present National Assembly.

The absence of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa from the official gallery during the president’s address was also noticed by media persons. The chiefs of navy and air force and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, however, witnessed the whole proceedings.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan also witnessed the session with other guests, including diplomats.

President Alvi said all state institutions were “on the same page” with a united approach for ensuring rule of law and social justice, eradicating corruption and removing all hurdles in the way of the country’s progress. He also mentioned the media while taking the names of state institutions, including the army, judiciary and executive.

“Our state institutions are in unison and pursuing the same vision of overcoming challenges confronting the country,” the president said. He congratulated the nation on “its victory against extremism”.

At one point, the president, however, regretted that “positive news” were not highlighted by the media. Before highlighting the two-year “achievements” of the government, Dr Alvi recalled that when the PTI came to power, the economy was going downward, corruption was at peak and the country was under the burden of foreign debt.

Covid-19 handling

Referring to the pandemic, the president said the government had handled the Covid-19 situation in a “very good manner”. He said when the pandemic hit the country, it was said that the people would die in the streets and get treatment on footpaths and there was a lot of pressure on the government to go for a strict lockdown.

However, he said, “with a vision to save the poor from dying”, the government adopted the policy of smart lockdown and worked opposite to what the other countries did. “Taraweeh prayers and daily prayers at mosques were banned in 57 Muslim countries, but our government took a very good step and prayers continued in our mosques due to the smart lockdown policy,” he added.

Dr Alvi said even the world was recognising the government’s response to the pandemic. “Today, the world is giving our example,” he said, adding that he felt proud when he heard Japan and Philippines saying that things could be learnt from Pakistan. He said that despite having similar genetic and climatic conditions, the situation in India was worse and on Wednesday 60,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in India against 600 cases in Pakistan.

He also praised ulema and the media for their role in implementation of the SOPs (standard operating procedures) during the pandemic time. He appreciated the government for helping the people through its Ehsaas programme under which it provided Rs12,000 each to 10.6m families, saying that actually the government had supported some 80-90 million people.

“I commend the prime minister and the government for standing by their Covid-19 response despite criticism [from the opposition],” he added. He also praised the National Command and Operation Centre and the National Disaster Management Authority for their role during the Covid-19 situation and paid tribute to doctors and paramedics.

President Alvi asked the government to pay attention to other diseases like tuberculosis and hepatitis. He stressed the need for taking steps to control population of the country, which would also help overcome the issue of malnutrition and stunting among children.

Economy

Talking about the economy, the president said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s current account deficit had reduced from $20 billion to $3bn. Initially, the president had said the current deficit was at $8bn, but he was corrected by some ministers sitting in the front row.

“Our ratings by Moody’s and Fitch have improved, showing us that they think the country’s situation looks good,” he said, adding: “This shows that the government’s policies are working, and had the coronavirus not emerged, it would have managed to take it to new heights.”

Foreign policy

President Alvi said the government put the country’s policy in right direction in view of the challenging international and regional scenario. He lauded Prime Minister Khan’s recent policy statement where he said Pakistan would not recognise Israel until the Palestinians were given their due rights.

Dr Alvi also praised the prime minister for effectively highlighting the Kashmir issue in his speech at the United Nations and said Imran Khan had proved himself to be a true ambassador of Kashmir. He said it was only due to the premier’s efforts that the matter was taken up by the UN Security Council three to four times during the past year. “This is your victory.”

The president urged the world to take notice of the military siege in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India, he said, always violated every agreement namely Geneva Convention, Human Rights Charter, Simla accord and UN resolutions.

He thanked China, Turkey, Malaysia, Iran and Azerbaijan for extending strong support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and condemning Indian atrocities.

The president said Pakistan had strong relations with Saudi Arabia and wanted to further strengthen them. Saudi Arabia stood by Pakistan in every difficult time and “we are very grateful to our brotherly Islamic country for this”.

Mr Alvi said Pakistan suffered the most due to conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan. Peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan would benefit Pakistan to a great extent, he added.

The president praised parliament for helping the government pass bills aimed at removing the country from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, saying “this is what a parliament is supposed to do”.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2020