ISLAMABAD: Giving high marks to the one-year performance of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government, President Mamnoon Hussain reserved some finger-pointing for unspecified state institutions and the country’s media while opening the new parliamentary year on Monday.

In his first mandatory address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate, which did not come about trouble-free, the president was all praise of the “successful” first year of the PML-N government following a historic transition after another elected government completed its constitutional five-year term for the first time in the country’s history.

He received repeated applause from ruling party lawmakers in his 30-minute Urdu speech which ranged from the start of new power projects and youth business loans to free laptops for hardworking students.

But the shine of the event, also watched by provincial governors and chief ministers, armed forces chiefs and foreign diplomats, was somewhat dimmed by an unexpected boycott by most opposition parties in the Senate to demonstrate their anger at the prime minister for his failure to attend the upper house even once during the past one year.

The mercurial independent member of the National Assembly from Punjab, Jamshed Ahmed Dasti, also tried to interrupt the president’s address at its start but his objection was not heard in the galleries, getting drowned in the desk-thumping from the treasury benches. He was finally persuaded by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed to end his protest.

Mr Dasti chipped in again from his front row seat to object to the president not having specifically mentioned the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) while praising the role of the armed forces and other military institutions.

Another irritation came from the back benches when a lawmaker, who could not be immediately identified, shouted “it is a lie” when the president referred to the government’s concern for non-Muslim minorities.

It was much after narrating the government’s achievements that the president referred to the “prime need of the hour”: cooperation among state institutions and the government’s wish that media devise a code of ethics for themselves.

The references seemed linked to the government’s perceived troubles with the military in recent months starting with the indictment of former military president Pervez Musharraf for high treason, which were precipitated by the government’s handling of an attack by unknown gunmen on a talk show anchor of a private television channel, whose reporting of the incident on a Karachi road had blamed the ISI.

The president cited it as an encouraging fact that “when our enemies are active to spread conflict and discord among us”, all civilian and military institutions were performing their duties with diligence and patriotism.

It was probably to counter the allegation that the government had not come forward to defend the ISI after the April 19 shooting in Karachi that the president also talked of “other military institutions working day and night with devotion” along with the armed forces in defending the borders.

As if the government were not fully satisfied with their role, President Mamnoon Hussain came to the subject of state institutions again towards the fag-end of his speech, saying that “they should perform their duties according to the country’s laws without making political like or dislike their touchstone”.

And then he included the aim to “further promote cooperation and unity among state institutions” in a list of six points he asked parliament to vow for.

The other pledges he sought for were: eradicate terrorism from the country; put aside political and party differences to ensure endurance and stability of democracy; struggle together against corruption, injustice, exploitation and inequality; and encourage religious, ideological and intellectual harmony.

Media and civil society

Urging civil society to give consideration to law, national traditions and feelings of the masses while performing its role, Mr Hussain said the people of Pakistan felt that the media should also realise its responsibilities and boundaries while exercising their freedom.

He said the government did not believe in imposing any restrictions, however, it expected the media to formulate a code of conduct for itself.

Foreign relations

Speaking on foreign relations, the president said the government was ready to promote friendly and constructive relationship with the new leadership in India and Afghanistan and reiterated Pakistan’s traditional stand that it wanted a solution of the Kashmir issue with India on the basis of UN resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Referring to the prime minister’s recent visit to Iran, Mr Hussain said the planned Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project would be completed “one day for sure”.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2014