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Summary President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday invited all the political parties to chalk out national agenda
He also invited the parties to start a national dialogue to resolve the issues. He said that this was not a right time to opt for point-scoring, but to take difficult decisions with consensus. The President categorically stated “We will not permit any one to usurp the powers, that rightly belong to the Parliament.In his 4th address to the joint sitting of parliament, the president condemned the assassination of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti. He paid tribute to the people for their sacrifices in the ongoing war on terror. The president lauded the parliamentarians for passing 18th and 19th Amendments. He said that all the parties were agreed to end the system of fake votes. He said that all institutions should work within the parameters laid down in the constitution. He said, “We believe in reconciliation instead of confrontation and the political parties should not challenge each other for point-scoring.” He said that Benazir Bhutto said time and again that democracy was the best revenge.He said that more and more opportunities would be created in FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan. Foreign reserves have reached $17.5 billion, he said adding that new projects are being started to increase power generation. He said that it was the government’s duty to take difficult decisions.The president said that the government curtailed the size of the cabinet while tax system was being expanded by introducing Reformed General Sales Tax. He said that the government would continue its economic reforms to strengthen the economy. On foreign policy matters, the president said that Pakistan wanted peaceful relations with all of its neighbours. All the chief ministers, governors and military chiefs attended the joint session with exception to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who stayed away from the session.Opposition parties JUI-F, PML-N, Jamat-e-Islami, PML-Q, Likeminded Group and Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao) staged a walk-out during the president’s address.
