President appreciates Prime Minister for his political wisdom

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday during his fifth address to the joint session of the parliament appreciated the political wisdom of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Asif Ali Zardari has become the first democratically elected President of the country to have addressed joint sitting of the parliament for the fifth consecutive year.

In his address, the President said, “Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani deserves our unqualified appreciation for his political wisdom in handling various challenges with courage and perseverance.” The President also appreciated the contribution and support of the coalitions partners to the PPP government during the last four years.

The joint session of Parliament began with the national anthem and recitation of holy verses.

The opposition started to chant slogans as soon as the session began and later boycotted the session and left the hall.

President Asif Ali Zardari thanked the leadership of all the political parties for their support to the democratic process. He complimented the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani for his able leadership in the House, then Chairman Senate Senator Farooq Naek and Speaker of the House Fehmida Mirza.

President’s speech complete text

He said that he feels honoured to address the joint session of the parliament for the fifth time. He then congratulated the newly elected Senators, MNAs and Senate Chairman.

The President said that he believes that democracy is flourishing in Pakistan and congratulated PM Gilani for moving the country forward: he expressed his gratitude to all the parties for strengthening democracy in the country.

President Zardari said that his government adopted the policy of reconciliation and took all the parties on board. He said that during a new Parliamentary Year, free and fair elections would be ensured.

He said, ‘We all worked together to restore the 1973 Constitution. The rule of law has been established. The supremacy of the Parliament has been assured.
As President I surrendered my powers. And today, the Prime Minister, the Chief Executive, enjoys full authority as required by law. This was a shining moment for our parliament. History will remember this achievement.’

‘To accompany the greater transfer of authority we took historic decisions to also provide more finances to the provinces. After a gap of 13 years, the federal and all provincial governments agreed on a new NFC Award. In the new Award the share of the provinces has been increased. Now nearly 70 percent of the resources are being transferred to the provinces.This means there is more money for education, health, drinking water, municipal services and law and order. In the last two years alone, over 800 billion rupees have additionally been transferred to the provinces.’

He acknowledged that the country has inherited terrorism, war and energy crises.

‘Our forces and police and civilians have been attacked and martyred. Our bases, police stations, pipelines, railways, hotels, schools, have been targeted. Even our mosques, churches and religious shrines have not been spared. To deal with the mind-set of a small minority, we have mobilized our society and tried to generate a national consensus. Where necessary we have used force to ensure that the writ of the state is not challenged. We will continue to show resolve on this issue. I believe that our efforts have begun to pay off and the situation has improved.’

The President told that the Political Parties Act was extended to the Tribal Areas that gave more political and economic power to the tribal citizens.

The tribal area of Kala Dhaka was converted into a settled area. In the same spirit, the government adopted a historic measure in 2009 to grant self-rule to Gilgit-Baltistan people.

‘The Government has taken special measures to develop Balochistan, end its sense of deprivation and bring it at par with other provinces. 11,500 jobs have been financed in the province by the federal government. Rs 120 billion for Gas Development Surcharge will be provided. This year the share of Balochistan in the new NFC has been more than doubled from Rs 43 billion to Rs 93 billion.’

While talking about bilateral relations, he said that the government fully support an Afghan owned and Afghan led peace process in Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan-United States relations are multi-dimensional and important.

It is pertinent to mention that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad are not attending the session.

It is a democratic norm that the President address the joint session of the parliament, at the start of every new year of the National Assembly which has five-year constitutional term.

During his fifth address to the joint session of the parliament, President Zardari will highlight the salient features of the last four years of the government and provide guide line to the government for its final year out of the five year term given to it by the general public during the 2008 elections.

The fifth and final year of the present National Assembly has started from March 12, as it was first met on March 12, 2008 following the elections.