Address to joint session

The President’s ceremonial address to the joint session of the parliament this year too was a contentious affair. There were no serious takers from the treasury, and the opposition performed its sacrosanct duty of obstructing the speech as has been the convention for decades. President Asif Ali Zardari felt it incumbent upon himself to praise the coalition government, of which his PPP is also a part, on its one-year performance that mainly features pulling the economy out of the woods. But the points that the President underscored, such as working for promoting good governance and political stability, sounded utopian, as the current dispensation sits at the pinnacle of restlessness and polarisation.

President Zardari added a feather to his cap as he earned the privilege of addressing the bicameral, under Article 56 of the Constitution, for the eighth time. But there was something seriously lacking in his words and deeds, as he is yet to live up to the expectation of a politician-par-excellence who believes in reconciliation. With the opposition pushed to the wall and its leadership imprisoned, the parliament and the government have merely struggled to stay afloat under the stigma of a compromised verdict in the February 2024 general elections.

The ruling coalition’s disregard for the rule of law as well as a plethora of legislations in contravention of the spirit of Constitution, such as the 26th amendment, made a mockery of egalitarian principles that the President spelt out before the august house. Zardari was on the mark as he told the legislators to work harder to strengthen the democratic system, restore public confidence in the rule of law, and to put Pakistan on the road to prosperity.

The discord within the ruling coalition was evident as the President expressed his disapproval of the federal government’s plan to construct six canals on River Indus. That, to many, was tantamount to playing the Sindh Card. The roadmap proposed by the President would have made sense had it called for embracing the opposition by releasing political prisoners and taking them along for a dialogue in nation-rebuilding.