ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday cautioned the opposition against ‘undue criticism’ as he stressed for making collective efforts to give more strength to the democratic process in the country. “The nation needs harmony and consensus now. There is no room for any mistakes. Opposition should not impose its will in an illegal way. We will welcome positive criticism but no one has the right to criticise the government unjustly,” the president said in his address to the joint session of parliament. The president said the country has already witnessed unpleasant experiences many times in its parliamentary democratic and political history which could not be repeated. He said obstinacy and personal differences should not override national interest as he reminded Quaid’s advice that neither the opposition and nor any group has the right to unlawfully impose its will on an elected government. Mamnoon said during the past three years, country’s democratic march had been progressing despite several ups and down. It is now responsibility of each individual, class and institution to contribute towards reinforcing a positive trend, he said, and added it is through sustaining and nurturing democracy that we can serve the nation, raise its standard of living and further strengthen the system. The president said he was glad to note that both the government and the opposition are cognizant of this and are formulating policies in the light of this philosophy thereby strengthening democracy. He said a government, be it of any political party, should formulate policies in accordance with this tested principle so that democracy can take roots and the people may live a happy and prosperous life. The president said the country has been facing many problems as a result of instability in the region, decades old conflicts, terrorism and failure of the past regime in maintaining financial discipline that alarmingly affected national income and production. Since the present government took charge, the current financial situation appeared encouraging, the tax system and tax collection has improved, foreign exchange reserves increased, GDP steadily has expanded and this year its growth has been 4.7 percent. About CPEC, the president said there is no weight in reservations expressed by certain quarters, adding that development work on this most important project is going on according to the schedule. He said if there were still any apprehension in mind of few, those should be removed through dialogue so that there is no room for mischief by ill-wishers. The president expressed confidence that efforts for restoring law and order in different areas of the country, particularly in Waziristan, Balochistan and Karachi, have produced satisfactory results. “I am confident that we will be able to achieve the objectives of Zarb-e-Azb by the end of this year and attain internal peace and security,” he added. Mamnoon said that Pakistan’s foreign policy was based on the principle of peace for development and peaceful neighbourhood. “We believe that the main cause of tension in the region is Kashmir issue, which is an unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent. As long as this issue is not resolved in accordance with wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the UN resolutions, the problems of this region will remain unresolved,” he said. He said despite Pakistan’s continued stress on dialogue, condemnation of the Pathankot incident and offer of joint investigation, India put foreign secretary level negotiations in abeyance, which is a matter of serious concern. About Afghan issue, the president said some recent incidents in Afghanistan have hindered the dialogue process, but hoped that these efforts would succeed. He said after lifting of sanctions on Iran, a new era of bilateral relations between the two countries has begun and the volume of bilateral trade was proposed to be $5 billion under the five-year strategic plan. The president said Pakistan has longstanding and historic relations with US, which are being further deepened through strategic dialogue.