Let me first thank those who have voted for the party I lead. This is a trust that places an onerous responsibility on me and the team which will help me lead the government.

Millions of new voters have voted this time. Millions more will be voting in the next round. Sixty-four percent of Pakistanis are younger than 30 and 29 percent are between 15 and 29. They have new aspirations and are frustrated with how this country has been governed. This makes my job even more difficult. Not only must I lead under trying circumstances that call for major changes in the governance paradigm, the situation also demands a healing touch.

Not everyone has voted for my party. We have a sizeable opposition in the country, both inside and outside parliament. It is the opposition’s legitimate task to hold the government’s feet to fire. Equally, the only way to run the country is for the Treasury and Opposition benches to agree on a minimum of some basic principles — essentially, points of convergence on how, together, we can move forward. The situation calls upon all the political players to avoid political differences to grow to the point of enmity. Divided we all fall.

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