President Mamnoon Hussain address the joint session of the parliament

Lahore : President Mamnoon Hussain Thursday said  raising 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.

Addressing the joint sitting of the Parliament at the start of the new Parliamentary Year, the President 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.

He said the Parliament was successfully continuing its journey towards the achievement of its true goals. He said 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 polices 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, he said, 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.