Reconciliation, forgiveness true spirit of democracy: President Mamnoon
June 02, 2014
The President was addressing from the joint session of the parliament at the advent of the new parliamentary today in Islamabad.
During his maiden address that was delivered in Urdu, the President expressed his pleasure over addressing the session for the fist time and termed it as an “honour”. He also congratulated the members on completing the first year of their term.
President Mamnoon Hussain said that the parliament contributes to promote democracy in the country and all the members are well aware of its role in strengthening it. He further said that the government has learned its lessons through experiences and observations.
The President congratulated the parliamentarians on their commendable performance during the last year and said that the real glory of democracy is to respect the opinion of the majority. Democracy is not manifested by confrontation, tension, criticism for the sake of criticism and revenge, he added.
Commenting on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s performance, he said that progress is not possible without economic stability and present government’s efforts seem fruitful. He said that the country is facing many challenges including terrorism and extremism and that is why the government opted for the process of dialogues to tackle the menace.
President Mamnoon Hussain said that prime minister’s visit to India was historic and said that Pakistan wishes to have a better working relationship with the new leaderships of neighbouring India and Afghanistan while the country is striving to strengthen its relation with Iran.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, ministers, members of the parliament, Chief Ministers, Governors and Prime Minister Azad Kashmir besides the chiefs of the three armed forces including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee attended the joint session of the parliament.
Ambassadors, diplomats, members of civil society and important personalities from different segments of life were also present, however, former president Asif Ali Zardari was not invited to attend the session, sources told.
It may be mentioned here that the president’s address to the joint session of the parliament before the advent of new parliamentary year is mandatory under Article 6 of the constitution of Pakistan and, therefore, the president in discharge of his constitutional obligation addressed the parliament today.
It may also be recalled that the former president Asif Ali Zardari had addressed the joint session of parliament for six times during his tenure, while his predecessor General (retired) Pervez Musharraf could address only once in his 8 years and 10 months tenure.
