ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain said on Friday that for the first time in Pakistan’s history, all institutions are on the same page regarding the problems confronting the country.
Addressing army officials who are undergoing training at the Command and Staff College, Quetta Cantonment, at the Presidency, Mamnoon said all institutions were unanimously agreed that the country’s problems were being dealt with through a joint strategy, which would make democracy even more stable. Director General Military Training Major General Ali Abbas Haider was also present. The resident said the overall performance of the country had been negatively affected due to the past conditions and institutions not working within their own purview.
He said consequently institutions had become weak and the nation’s confidence towards the government had weakened nevertheless currently, the situation was different and the country’s conditions had improved. President Mamnoon further said that due to the consensus of all stakeholders, the security and economy of the country was improving, therefore to attain the rightful place in the international community, a strong economy was essential and the economy has attained precedence over politics. He said that for the revival of the national economy, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was an extraordinary project, which was being worked on successfully and there were no hurdles in this regard.
Pakistan and its government are working unanimously in this regard, he added. President Mamnoon said the nation was united in the fight to eliminate terrorism, which has improved the reputation of the country. This has developed harmony among national institutions and such consensus would keep improving with time, he added. The president said operation Zarb-e-Azb would continue till elimination of the last terrorist, and noted that National Action Plan had the consensus of the whole nation through which the menace of terrorism would be cleansed from this country and this initiative was on the track to successfully achieving its objectives.
He said the tribal areas had been severely affected by terrorism, and a committee is working to introduce reforms, which would bring their issues to the forefront, and approval of the reforms would also be taken from parliament. He said Kashmir was the jugular vein of Pakistan and solution of the region’s problems were connected to the solution of the Kashmir issue. Negotiations cannot move ahead until the people of Kashmir get their right to self-determination, the president said, adding that Pakistan had successfully played a key role in improving relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran while Turkey had also been involved in these efforts. Mamnoon hoped that Pakistan would successfully be able to ameliorate such conflicts. He also answered the questions asked by the trainee officers.
