Pakistan is desirous to resolve all issues with India through dialogue: President

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday said that Pakistan desires to resolve all disputes with India through dialogue but it is regrettable that our sincere efforts have not been reciprocated in the same spirit.

"The situation has instead been exacerbated by India by promoting subversive acts of espionage and disruption, as was evident from the arrest and confessional statement of an Indian spy," he said while addressing the joint sitting of the Parliament at the start of the new Parliamentary Year.

The President during his address spoke at length about the country's foreign relations. He mentioned the state of ties with China, India, Afghanistan, Central Asian States, Russia, Turkey and the Islamic world. 

He recalled that, "Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had declared that the foreign policy of Pakistan would be based on friendship, peace and impartiality with all nations, particularly the neighbours. As declared by the Quaid, Pakistan would abide by the principles of moral support for the oppressed people of the world and would not harbour aggressive designs against any country."

He said, "Pakistan's determination in this regard was amply reflected by its exemplary role in the peace missions of the United Nations. For global peace, stability and progress, Pakistan invites the comity of nations, particularly our neighbours, to agree on the fundamental principle of economic cooperation which can lead to ending of regional tensions."

He described Pakistan's relations with China as "exemplary" and said, "Both were consistently enhancing their bilateral cooperation in all walks of life. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would enhance prosperity of both countries and also of other countries of the region."

The president reiterated Pakistan's stance of political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri brethren. He termed the issue of Jammu and Kashmir as part of the unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent. He described India as the biggest hurdle in establishing peace and stability in the region and said holding of the plebiscite under the United Nations was the only solution to Kashmir dispute.

"Our Kashmiri brothers, sisters, sons and daughters are protesting for their fundamental right of freedom for which they are being subjected to worst kind of atrocities," the President said. He strongly condemned India for its acts of aggression on the Line of Control leading to huge loss of lives and property.

Highlighting the contours of Pakistan's foreign policy, President Mamnoon said regional stability was linked with peaceful Afghanistan and recounted Pakistan's efforts on the issue including facilitation of Murree Talks and supporting Heart of Asia.

He invited Afghan leadership to improve border management system through mutual cooperation. He mentioned the substantive assistance Pakistan had been extending to war-hit Afghanistan besides educational scholarships to thousands of Afghan students and resolved that the country would continue to show such cordial gesture to its Afghan brethren.

He said, "Pakistan had great expectations to meet its energy needs through the projects with Central Asian States like TAPI, CASA-1000 and hoped for dedicated efforts for their timely completion. Pakistan greatly valued its ties with Russia and Turkey and always worked for resolution of the problems confronting Islamic world."

"Being the land of Holy Places, every Pakistani has great respect for Saudi Arabia whereas our relations with all other countries of Muslim world are also embedded in love and sincerity," he remarked.

President Mamnoon said, "After many ups and downs in the US ties, Pakistan had established fresh contact with the new US administration that would pave the way for further expansion of the bilateral relations." He also expressed satisfaction over Pakistan's relations with European Union particularly after grant of Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus.

He said, "Pakistan also desires to further cement ties with emerging economies of Southeast Asia, South America and South Africa." Highlighting Pakistan's big achievements on diplomatic fronts, he said, "Pakistan successfully hosted Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summits."

The President advocated for Pakistan's strong credentials to be a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as the country was strictly committed to nuclear proliferation. "However, due to negative Indian mindset, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit could not be held in Islamabad last year which impeded the regional cooperation for progress and prosperity," he said.

He also called for reforms in the Security Council to make the UN more effective and beneficial international body to ensure representation of all states particularly the smaller ones.

President Mamnoon recounted Pakistan's sacrifices in war against terrorism including thousands of citizens and soldiers and was hopeful of the success of Operation Raddul Fasaad like Zarb-e-Azb to make Pakistan 'a cradle of peace.' He also suggested to eliminate extremism by reducing class difference and making higher education accessible to all, enabling country's youth to play their role in building a new world.

President Mamnoon Hussain said, "Rising above individual and parochial interests was imperative to attain higher objectives of national progress and prosperity and stressed large heartedness to ensure continuity of political process."

He attributed the root cause of political or economic conspiracies, misgivings about national security and other intricate issues; in the events of the past, wrong decisions and policies adopted for short term objectives.

He said, "Usually such state of affairs was blamed on political opponents to belittle them, and termed it the primary cause of most of the political problems that led to a halt in the process of development." The President quoted from Surah-e-Hashar of the Quran; "Those who are saved from the covetousness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity."

The President said "Some short-sighted elements during different phases in history were responsible for weakening the relationship between individual and the State." He stressed the role of leadership for safeguarding the rights of those who resorted to illegitimate means in despair when meted out unequal treatment by the State.

"In such circumstances, it is the leadership which provides a sense of security to the common man through its broad vision and practical steps," he said.

President Mamnoon said, "Parliament was the reflection of the thoughts of nation and was also a source of guidance as every person of the country considered himself a stakeholder in the decisions taken by the august House." He emphasized on creating a congenial atmosphere for better utilization of national resources for the welfare of people.

"Let's come forward and join hands to make this House a medium of achieving national objectives because our goal should be to have a parliament envisaged by our forefather especially Allama Iqbal who expounded the Pakistan ideology," he said.

President Mamnoon Hussain said, "Democracy in the country has seen many ups and downs and has passed through turbulent times but the Parliament was successfully continuing its journey towards the achievement of its true goals. The parliament has emerged as a symbol of national unity, despite severe political differences. The role of the Parliament will be remembered in history, for which I congratulate all of you and the whole nation."

The President during his address to the joint sitting attended by the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, governors of the four provinces, diplomats, services chiefs, said, "A strong feeling was emerging to ensure tangible steps to include the marginalized classes in the development process."

He commended the steps being taken to bring Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in national mainstream and hoped that rising above their vested interests, all segments of society would participate in national reconstruction.

President Mamnoon Hussain said, "During the last few decades the country's precious resources have been squandered due to directionless and non-deliberate policies. I am thankful to Almighty Allah that now the nation perceives the sense of loss and has the passion of doing something about it."

He mentioned the trade and investment friendly policies of the state, CPEC for connectivity between continents and power projects to overcome the energy crisis, as a manifestation of this plan. 

The President pointed out that, "Difference of opinion on the process of development and rights on the national resources among different segments of the society was not unusual and debate leads to paving way for reforms. However, at the same time it was imperative to stop chaos, emerging difference of opinion through a well thought out strategy, so as to thwart efforts to make the process of development controversial."

The President urged the government, opposition and all other political parties to declare Vision 2025 as national plan through consensus to ensure welfare of the public. "No matter which political party was in power, the welfare of people need not hampered at any cost. The vision includes several programmes for stability of the economy and welfare of the people," he said.

He said, "The vision includes resolve to be in the top 25 economic of the world by raising the national growth and per capita income. There was a need to focus on controlling the rising rate of population growth to ensure the optimal use of resources."

President Mamnoon Hussain said, "The country's economy had shown positive growth, which was not only acknowledged by domestic but international economic institutions also. According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and International economic institutions, our economic indicators are healthy. The growth rate had remained at the highest level of the past ten years and the foreign exchange reserves touched the highest-ever level of $23 billion while the inflation has witnessed remarkable decline."

He said, "International monetary ranking institutions including Moody's had given positive ranking to Pakistan and the World Bank had now included the country in the list of best-performing economies of South Asia." He expressed satisfaction over the economic overview, however stressed that these successes would lead to real happiness only if contributed towards bringing respite in the lives of people.

He said, "Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) was continuously manifesting positive trends while SBP and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) also played an effective role in regulation of the financial sector." He was of the view that, "These overviews were indeed satisfactory but these successes would only lead to real happiness if they contributed towards bringing respite and prosperity in the lives of people."

The President said, "The petroleum prices showed a declining trend last year, and the benefit was passed directly to the general public, adding that the development expenditure had also increased by three times in the upcoming budget. In my opinion, this is the right approach to solve the problems of the people." 

President Mamnoon emphasized on paying more attention to education and health and said forward-looking nations invest heavily in human resource and infrastructure for sustainable development to train youth effectively to meet future challenges. He said, "Majority of country's population consists of youth which was good fortune, adding various scholarship programmes were encouraging factors for their better training."

He expressed the hope that the Ministry of Commerce would look for permanent and effective solution to resolve the problems of export sector which had been facing issues due to the decrease in prices in the international market. He mentioned that defence products of highest quality could easily capture prospective buyers in international markets.

He also lauded three-fold increase in the budget for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and highlighted the importance of devising a strategy to enhance capabilities of beneficiary women through proper training.

President Mamnoon Hussain said, "Commendable steps had been taken by the government towards providing healthcare facilities to the people, particularly the Health Insurance Scheme." However, he mentioned unavailability of medical facilities in far-flung areas due to negligence and incompetence of a few and called for establishment of more hospitals and health units to cater to the needs of growing population.

He said, "Significant advancement had taken place in traveling facilities due to construction of new highways and improvement in mass transit systems including Metro and Green Line."

He said, "The government had allocated considerable funds for Azad Jammu and Kashmir, FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan at par with other parts of the country."

Terming agriculture as the 'country's backbone,' the President called for taking continuous steps for its development and betterment of farmers. He expressed satisfaction over provision of fertilizers and other agricultural input on low prices and urged upon the federal and provincial governments for a joint strategy to address challenges of climate change.

On electricity generation, President Mamnoon said, "The issue would be resolved permanently with start of recently set up electricity projects. Connecting Gilgit-Baltistan with national grid would increase power production after completion of Bhasha, Dasu and Bunji dams." He stressed promotion of tourism through upgradation of facilities in view of the immense natural beauty of the country.

Lauding the role of National History and Literary Division for rejuvenation of educational and literary institutions, he mentioned the establishment of an Endowment Fund to resolve the issues faced by poets, writers and artists.

He expressed pleasures over the successful culmination of national census besides paying tribute to the brave workers who had lost their lives in some untoward incidents during the exercise.

The president was appreciative of media role for restoration of democracy and resolution of social issues; however called for rectification of the issues surfaced consequent to the competition among media entities what he believed had been affecting the country on political and cultural fronts.

Meanwhile, opposition parties, while chanting 'Go Nawaz Go' slogans, walked out as President Mamnoon Hussain started his address in the joint session of the parliament being chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq Thursday.

While highlighting the achievements of the government in diversified sectors, the president said that the democracy in Pakistan has faced several ups and downs in the past but the journey to make country prosperous is underway.

He said that history will remember the performance of the parliament in national unity due to its decisive position despite challenges. He said that nature has blessed Pakistan with tremendous sources as the economic indicators are healthy however, funds to uplift projects have also been soared by three times.

While talking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the president said that the project will change the fate of the country and South Asia by providing different opportunities.

He said that there is a need to get united for the development of the country and to avoid spreading anarchy among the people by dissenting opinions.

Talking on the issue of RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav's detention, he said that regional peace was obliterated by spying and terror activities. He further termed India as a biggest hurdle in maintaining law and order situation in the region.

Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Sohail Aman, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah are present in the parliament. - NNI