ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday said constitutional guarantee was important in ensuring broad-based consensus among political stakeholders and national institutions for the stability of system.
Addressing the farewell ceremony of the retired senators on completion of their term, the president said parliament was an important body in functioning of the State for defining the direction of the government and for keeping an eye on performance of the institutions. He said all institutions of the State were answerable and accountable to the parliament and emphasized on accelerating the process of consultation among stakeholders of the political system and the relevant national institutions.
The president said the consultative process needed to be given constitutional cover to foster democratic system in the country in line with the constitution and also in accordance with the aspirations of the people. He called upon the parliamentarians to take up the matter on emergency basis in the interest of the nation so that the history remembers them in good words.
The president said the recent election of Senate was an important milestone, however regretted the suspicion cast by some politicians over the process, which he said was a matter of concern. He said due care and caution should be observed while giving statements on the issues of national importance and instead of creating controversy, the matter should be handled responsibly.
The president said in view of bitter experience of the past, the sensitivity regarding the continuity of democratic process was understandable. He said ignorance of political norms had resulted in the ongoing disturbance and in this regard, great responsibility lied on politicians and parliamentarians.
He said bench and opposition were the two pillars of the system and stressed for following the basics of democracy to ensure smooth functioning of the government. He called upon all political parties to shun their mutual differences in the best interest of democracy and contribute to strengthening of the system.
The president expressed satisfaction that the Senate secretariat had compiled its activities in the form of book and proposed to translate it from English to Urdu edition for the benefit of maximum people.
He lauded the services of outgoing Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani for strengthening of democracy and expressed hope that the retired senators would continue with their positive efforts.
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq and Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan also spoke on the occasion.
Published in Daily Times, March 10th 2018.
