While giving the world community a wake-up call to avert the looming threat to international peace from the Indian violent actions in Held Kashmir, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday warned India to come to senses and not push the things to point of no return.
“I want to clarify to the international community that any negligence in this regard will pose a serious threat to the international peace. Even now, we warn India to come to its senses and not to cause an irreversible situation,” the president told a joint sitting of the parliament in his second constitutionally mandated address since assuming the office in September last year.
The president reiterated Pakistan’s support to the people of the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) and made it clear to India that genocide of innocent Kashmiris will not be tolerated. He also appealed to the opposition parties that despite having political differences with the government on a number of issues there should be no difference on the Kashmir issue.
In his wide-ranging address, the president said Pakistan’s biggest political mistake was to get involved in others’ wars, and stressed that major decisions needed to be made in national interest. He said certain bad decisions in the past incurred curse of terrorism to the country. He said giving refuge to millions of Afghan refugees was an unprecedented example of hospitality and generosity in the world, however it adversely impacted the Pakistani economy. “In view of these matters, I would like to highlight that all major decisions should be taken by keeping national interests supreme,” he said.
The president said Pakistan is the world’s seventh and the Muslim world’s first nuclear power, and stressed that the country’s nuclear assets are a deterrent to the aggressive designs of its enemies.
President Alvi termed protection of fundamental rights as basic responsibility of a state and said the basic idea of Pakistan was to establish a system based on justice, tolerance and equality with every citizen enjoying liberty. “We have to make Pakistan a welfare state where employment, health, education, equitable distribution of resources and justice are available,” he said, and mentioned that the government’s dream to set up a governance model inspired by the Islamic history’s first welfare state of Medina could be only realized with the collective efforts and contribution by every single individual of the nation. “If we commit, our country can exemplify State of Medina to the world in accordance with the wishes of Quaid-e-Azam,” he said.
The president called upon the parliament for early passing of the bills relating to provision of swift justice to the common man. These bills include Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill, Letters of Administration and Succession Certificate Bill, Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Bill, Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Bill and Mutual Legal Assistance Bill.
He said speedy justice is an integral part of good governance, adding that the launching of model courts is an admirable decision, which will help provide swift and cheap justice to the masses.
President Alvi said the previous rulers irreparably harmed the national economy during their eras through rampant corruption, unjust decisions and ignoring the accountability. He said due to corruption, the national economy could not be remodeled on modern principles and a large part of it goes into black economy affecting the country even today. He said corruption is capable of destroying any society by weakening its foundations. “Unfortunately, this curse has widely spread in our society,” he remarked. The accountability of those who had plundered the national wealth and resources was going on, he said. “Remember, if the society is clean and transparent, we will be able to keep alive our glorious national traditions and earn a respectful place in the comity of nations,” he remarked.
The president urged the government to formulate a comprehensive and effective policy on social media to counter fake news and disinformation in order to give the real news a proper coverage. “I would like that the government should formulate a comprehensive and effective policy regarding social media, so that fake news, disinformation, and misinformation can be countered and real news could be given proper coverage,” he said. Likewise, he said, the very important medium should be optimally utilized for the promotion of national identity, health, education, progress and development.
President Alvi also warned the government to pay instant attention to the population explosion and create public awareness about it by utilizing all available resources. He said the population explosion is a huge problem and deserves the government’s immediate attention as it constrains the national resources. He said the public should be sensitized about the adverse effects of population growth through media by taking on board religious scholars, political and social leaders as well as civil society.
Despite opposition’s hullabaloo during the joint session of parliament, President Alvi delivered his 53-minute-long address with undivided focus and confidence, without reading it out from paper. In the history of parliament, Dr Alvi got the distinction of being the first president who used a teleprompter for his speech. Two clear glass screens installed in front of the president’s dais helped him deliver an uninterrupted and smooth read as the digital text ran before his eyes, without the hassle of turning over the pages of written speech as the opposition tried to hinder the proceedings with its noisy slogans.
