President Dr. Arif Alvi praised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s performance on several fronts, including economic, social, and human development, and foreign policy, during its three-year tenure in leading the country to a “prosperous and brilliant future.”
He made the remarks while speaking to the joint session of parliament on Monday, which marked the start of the National Assembly’s fourth parliamentary year.
The gathering was also attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan and other international leaders.
The president opened his speech by thanking the MPs for completing three years and the beginning of the fourth parliamentary year. He went on to say that during the last three years, Pakistan has accomplished a number of milestones on both the internal and external fronts.
The president’s speech continued despite protests from the opposition, who chanted anti-government and anti-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s chants. They also carried posters stating that they reject the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) law.
The opposition, led by opposition leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif, staged a walkout shortly after the address began.
Regardless of its objections, the president stated that the opposition must recognize Pakistan’s achievements during the last three years. He stated that the country was on the “correct road,” and that the economy was growing.
During the Covid-19 epidemic, he claimed, the economy of some nations shrank but Pakistan’s advanced “all due to the government’s excellent measures.” The president also ascribed the construction sector’s success to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiatives.
“The government granted the construction sector a subsidy of Rs36 billion,” he added, adding that overseas investors’ trust had increased by 60%.
President Alvi further stated that the country could not have progressed earlier owing to corruption and the bad policies of previous regimes.
He went on to say that Pakistan’s exports have grown to $25.3 billion in the current fiscal year. “The Pakistan Stock Exchange has shattered all previous records,” he added, adding that it has become Asia’s best-performing market and the fourth-best in the world.
International relations
In his remarks, President Alvi also said that Afghanistan has seen considerable progress. “PM Imran always maintained that there was no military solution to Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the rest of the world eventually learned the same lesson the hard way.
“Only after spending millions of dollars and losing numerous precious lives did the world comprehend what PM Imran had indicated throughout,” Dr. Alvi added. “The whole world must now recognize that PM Imran’s and Pakistan’s advise on Afghanistan was correct,” he continued, asking the globe to seek the premier’s guidance on other issues as well.
Furthermore, the president praised China’s “important” role in Pakistan’s development, saying that the country valued its connections with China. He went on to say that India was still doing everything it could to undermine Pakistan’s ties with China.
President Alvi also expressed worry over the open sale of uranium in India and denounced the Modi-led BJP government’s ‘fascist’ practices in the nation. He said that the Indian government was complicit in a number of human rights crimes in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).
