Sunday, 21 September 2008
The religious leaders have termed the first address of the president to the joint session of parliament a frustrating event which, they said, did not address the public grievances particularly with regard to averting the national security crises, relief from the price-hike and the restoration of independent judiciary.
President Zardari
He said Asif Zardari had ascended to the presidential slot because of the Charter of Democracy, but he did not seem to be ready to implement the charterís clauses. He said the president had put all the issues in cold storage by handing them over to the committees.
Munawar said the president should have announced the abolition of 58-2(B) and the 17th amendment immediately but the public was in limbo due to different statements by the president. He said Asif Zardari seemed to have taken over the jobs of the PM as he had gone to forein tour just after becoming the president. He said it was unbecoming of a presidents office.
Munawar said Asif Zardari had paid verbal tributes to Benazir Bhutto but, after becoming the president, he had taken no practical steps to hold an inquiry into her murder, which showed that her assassination was now a thing of the past.
Jamiat Ahle Hadith president Senator Sajid Mir said Zardaris presidential address was the same traditional speech, full of tall claims and promises but without any concrete measures to address the impending problems of the masses.
He said all such claims Asif ZArdari has already made a number of times in his speeches and interviews in the recent past but without any practical implementation. He said only the time would tell if the promises made turn into reality or not. He said it was not understand why President Zardari was refraining from undoing the Nov 2ís unconstitutional steps.
He said it would have been better for president Zardari to abolish immediately the Article 58-2(B) before putting it before a review committee. He pronounced to uphold national security but his actions of the recent past were exactly opposite to such claims. The president also avoided to openly oppose and condemn the American aggression against Paksitans security and sovereignty, he added.
Sajid Mir said the issue of Kashmir was more important than free trade and visa policy with India, since without solving the core issue bilateral relations would never improve. The president keeps on mentioning the public mandate but has given comprehensive program to provide relief to the masses from the back breaking price hike and lawlessness.
Hizbut Tahrir (HT) Pakistan spokesman Naveed Butt said president Zardaris speech was contrary to the public aspirations since he said nothing new and wasted precious thirty minutes of the nation. He said people wanted an end to the war on terror but Zardari had declared it would continue till the completion of the American agenda.
He emphasized that the corrupt Muslim leadership trapped in the quagmire of corrupt democratic system could never pull the Muslim Ummah out of the present crises since their power could not survive without further corruption and plundering of the public wealth.
He said only Islamic Khilafah could pull the Ummah out of western clutches and protect its material and human resources and only Hizbut Tahrir was the only option as alternate Muslim leadership to achieve that goal.
