President Asif Ali Zardari pronounced his eighth address in Parliament as a joint session summoned on Monday to mark the completion of the parliamentary year.
Opposition legislators, in particular PTI, raised slogans and held the signs, disturbing the session as soon as the president began to speak.
Despite the tumult, President Zardari remained composed, sometimes smiling on the opposition benches while continuing his address. To counter the noise, he and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used headphones.
Opposition demonstrations and a light moment
While the PTI legislators entered the room, they immediately started singing slogans in favor of their party leader, Imran Khan, and beat offices to protest.
Omar Ayub opposition has repeatedly criticized his fists on his desk to record his dissent.
In a lighter moment, Pervez Khattak was wrongly heading for the opposition benches, heading for his former Pakistani colleagues Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI), before making his mistake.
The session has seen the presence of key political figures, notably Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar, the president of the Pakistani peoples Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Pakistani Muslim League – Nawaz (PML -N), the chief organizer Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Minister of Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti, and several federal ministers.
A large number of foreign diplomats have also observed the procedures of the guest gallery.
Zardari’s warning on the pressure federation
During his speech, President Zardari warned that certain unilateral government policies exercised “serious pressure” on the federation.
He specifically criticized the decision to extract additional channels from the Industry river system without the consensus of all federative units.
“As president of Pakistan, it is my constitutional duty to warn this room that some of your unilateral policies tend the federation. The unilateral decision to extract other channels from the Industry river system, despite strong opposition from federative units, is worrying. I cannot support this proposal in my capacity as president, ”said Zardari.
He urged the government to abandon the existing plan and engage with all stakeholders to develop a lasting and mutually agreed solution.
Appeal to governance and economic stability reforms
Zardari highlighted the need for better governance, economic reforms and job creation to treat public complaints. “This house must focus on improving governance and political and economic stability. People have placed their hopes in this parliament, and we have to meet their expectations, “he said.
Calling for a fairer tax system, he stressed that the burden should not fall disproportionately on employees but should be extended to include all eligible taxpayers. He also pressed the government to provide real relief in the next budget by increasing wages and pensions while reducing the cost of living.
Counter terrorism and approach regional inequalities
The president also stressed the security problems, warning that terrorism resurfaces due to external support and financing. “Our security forces have sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism. We cannot allow activism to go up, “he said.
Zardari stressed that the deep causes of terrorism were in deprivation and inequality. He called for the hierarchy of the development of the most affected regions and the creation of job possibilities to counter extremism.
A call to unity and construction consensus
President Zardari urged parliamentarians to work towards national unity and to adopt a consensus of decision -making consensus. “We must think of unity and work on the empowerment of our people. The national interest should be superior to political differences, “he said.
At the end of the session, the members of the opposition continued their demonstrations, while the government argued that the address underlined the country’s main challenges and a roadmap to remedy it. The session was indefinitely adjourned following the president’s speech.