Time To Turn A New Page: President Calls For Meaningful Dialogue, Political Reconciliation To End Polarisation, Overcome Challenges

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday, stressing for turning a new page and making a fresh start, called for a meaningful dialogue, parliamentary consensus and fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and political reconciliation to do away with the polarisation and overcome the challenges pervading the country

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Apr, 2024) President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday, stressing for turning a new page and making a fresh start, called for a meaningful dialogue, parliamentary consensus and fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and political reconciliation to do away with the polarisation and overcome the challenges pervading the country.

"In my considered view, it is time to turn a new page... The challenges we face are not impossible to overcome. They just require the fundamentals of a meaningful dialogue and parliamentary consensus... We can effectively tackle our challenges and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and political reconciliation," the president said addressing the Joint Session of the Parliament.

Chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the joint sitting was attended by members of the National Assembly and Senate, while in the galleries were provincial chief ministers and legislators, diplomats, and representatives from political parties.

The president's address was in pursuance of Article 56 (3) of the Constitution which marked the beginning of the first parliamentary year, following the general elections.

The address encompassed major national and international matters, and challenges from economy, poverty, social welfare, women empowerment and foreign policy to Kashmir and Palestine as well as climate change.

He said having given away his powers to the Parliament, his role was as a unifying symbol of a joint robust federation, where all people and provinces should be treated as equal before the law.

As a new beginning, he said, the country needed to build its strengths by investing in people, focusing on public needs, and harnessing its resources to create pathways to inclusive growth.

"We have little time to waste. The country needs us to move on from the polarisation so common now to contemporary politics," he remarked and sought the role of two Houses of the Parliament in rebuilding public confidence in the parliamentary process.

Calling for resetting the political atmosphere with "more light than heat", he emphasised reforms to promote good governance and turn challenges into opportunities.

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