Daily Times

President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a joint session of
parliament for the fourth time since he became the head of state. The opposition parties first recorded their protest and then boycotted the session. The PML-N, PML-Q, JUI-F and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) were amongst the parties that decided to register their protest against the PPP-led government by a boycott. It was good to see that the opposition did not create as big a ruckus as was expected by some. In fact, the opposition did not behave all that badly if our past record is kept in mind. Former president General Pervez Musharraf only addressed the joint session of parliament once during his nine-year rule. The opposition kept chanting: “Go Musharraf, go” and “No dictatorship, no” during his speech. Being a military dictator, Musharraf was not used to public voices of dissent and thus decided not to address parliament again after this episode. This clearly shows the difference between a dictatorship and democracy. This time around, the opposition registered their protest in a more democratic and peaceful manner.

President Zardari started his speech by condemning the desecration of the Quran by Pastor Terry Jones in Florida. “It is a serious setback to the efforts at promoting harmony among civilised communities throughout the world,” said Mr Zardari and urged the House to adopt a resolution in this regard. The president congratulated the government and the opposition for the unanimous passage of the 18th and 19th constitutional amendments and the NFC Award. He reminded the House that when the PPP-led government took charge, there was “an ailing economy, rising militancy, and growing extremism”. He agreed that three years “is a long enough period to demonstrate progress” and said that the government has “brought the economy back on track”. President Zardari outlined the future plans of the government to help the economy, which include “reduction in non-development expenditure to cut expenses, reforms in power sector, restructuring of public sector enterprises, incentivising remittances and special programmes for poverty alleviation”. Even though such measures sound good, the real test lies in their implementation. Investment in Pakistan, both local and foreign, is extremely low. The energy crisis is getting worse with each passing day. Inflation keeps rising while the poor keep getting poorer.

The president lauded the government for giving rights to the labour class by increasing the minimum wage from Rs 4,600 to Rs 7,000 per month. Even though the workers have the right to “seek legal remedies against dismissal” as mentioned by the president, we see the majority of workers, especially in the private sector, yet to receive the new minimum wage and being laid off without prior notice. President Zardari reiterated that education is not “a privilege, but a basic right” after the passage of the 18th Amendment and that 2011 has been declared as the “Year of Education” in Pakistan. It was good to see the president condemning the brutal assassinations of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti. He pledged to “avenge the martyrdom of these heroes of democracy by defeating the mindset that preaches violence and hatred”. At least someone in the PPP has finally found the guts to denounce those murders and remember the sacrifices of Mr Taseer and Mr Bhatti.

The president outlined the plans for the remaining two years of this government’s tenure and assured the House that the government will overcome the hurdles in Pakistan’s progress. The president urged politicians to avoid political point-scoring and asked them to come together as divisions amongst politicians weaken democracy. He invited all political parties for a national dialogue. Pakistan needs democracy more than ever now in the face of all the challenges we face.*