President calls for unity to revive economy, strengthen democracy

President Asif Ali Zardari strongly expressed his disapproval of the federal government's plan to construct six canals on the Indus River, saying that the government's "unilateral policies," despite strong opposition from the provinces, were causing grave strain on the Federation.

- Tariq Butt

"l urge this government to abandon this current proposal and work together with all stakeholders to come up with viable, sustainable solutions based on unanimous consensus among the federating units," he said in his address to the joint sitting of the parliament, kicking off the new parliamentary year.

Zardari called for unity to revive the economy, strengthen democracy and the rule of law. "Let us work together to revive our economy, strengthen our democracy, and uphold the rule of law."

He expressed gratitude to address the parliament for the 8th time.

The president urged the legislature to focus on promoting good governance, and political and economic stability to meet expectations of the nationals who pinned their hopes on parliament.

He appreciated the government's efforts for putting the country on a positive path to economic growth as foreign exchange reserves witnessed a surge. "There was a substantial increase in Foreign Direct Investment and the stock market also surged to a historic high. The government also reduced the policy rate from 22% to 12%, and all other economic indicators have shown a healthy sign of improvement."