Pakistan made significant progress through prudent policies: President Alvi 

While addressing the joint session of parliament, the President said that enhanced revenue collections and workers' remittances indicated full confidence in the government’s policies.
He mentioned an increase in exports from the US $ 23.7 billion in the fiscal year 2019-20 to the US $ 25.3 billion in 2020-21; workers’ remittances recorded at the historic US $ 29.4 billion, vibrancy in the stock market, improvement in ease of doing business, and enhanced investors’ confidence as some of the government’s achievements.
The President said that with 18% growth in revenue collection recorded at Rs.4,732 billion in 2020-21, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has registered an increase of Rs. 160 billion revenue collection as against the target during the first two months of the current fiscal.
He said that with the record sale and purchase of  2.21 billion shares in one session in May 2021 alone, Pakistan’s stock market got the distinction of the best market in Asia and 4th in the world.
The President further said that Pakistan, which had got 28 points of improvement in the World Bank’s ranking of ease of doing business two years back, has also won the confidence of overseas investors through a 60% increase in the Business Confidence Index (BCI) in the survey of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI).
He said the Electronic Voting Machine would ensure transparency, voters' privacy, and swift results as it also featured a counter to calculate votes. Moreover, the government is also taking measures like i-voting to grant voting rights to overseas Pakistanis.
Coming to the sexual crime rate in the country, the president said the government had passed laws to protect the rights of special persons and women as well as to eliminate sexual crimes.
The president said besides the government, it was also the societal responsibility to help stop the crime by being watchful against such elements.
He said the refusal of property rights to women still pervaded some parts of the country which was unfortunate for a Muslim country as Allah Almighty had guided the followers in detail on the subject. He again urged society particularly Ulema to play a role in awareness and counter the societal traditions.
Touching the subject of foreign policy, the president said India had been committing genocide of Kashmiri people as well as targeting Indian Muslim minorities.
He said Imran Khan, who had called himself as Ambassador of Kashmir, exposed the real face of India globally. He said Pakistan always strived to maintain friendly ties with the world which was also manifested by the prime minister in his maiden speech. But it was construed as Pakistan’s weakness by India, he added.
Moreover, Pakistan’s gesture of releasing captured Indian pilot in 2019 was also taken as the country’s weakness, he added.
He told the House that the fascist ideology of RSS was a threat to regional peace and that India had also been involved in sponsoring terrorism in the region.
He also assured the Kashmir people that Pakistan was committed to its stance and thanked China, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan for supporting Pakistan’s stance on the issue.
About Afghanistan, he said, since the beginning, Imran Khan called for a political settlement in Afghanistan and opposed the military solution.
He said even after decades of war and spending trillions of dollars, peace could not be revived in Afghanistan.
Calling the Taliban’s announcement for amnesty was encouraging, he urged the world community not to leave the Afghan people in the lurch rather make efforts to avert a humanitarian and economic crisis.
President Alvi said Pakistan had been playing a humanitarian role in Afghanistan with its flag carrier PIA being at the forefront for evacuation.
He said the world should acknowledge that Pakistan’s stance on Afghanistan had proved correct and suggested the world follow Imran Khan’s political acumen in other matters too.
The president said peace in Afghanistan would be a good omen for all the neighboring countries.
He said Pakistan attached high priority to its ties with China that had played a vital part in the economic development and prosperity of Pakistan.
Expressing his confidence, the president further said that ill designs of certain elements in the region to harm these time-tested ties were doomed to fail. “I want to remind India that the friendship bonds between Pakistan and China will grow further,” he added.
The president also thanked all the brotherly Muslim countries for supporting Pakistan including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran, etc.
Pakistan very generously hosted 3.5 million to 4 million Afghan refugees on its soil for decades. The countries which had been championing the cause of human rights even did not accept refugees and let them drowned in the Mediterranean. The president also paid rich tributes to the sacrifices of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, civil forces, and the nation that had jointly defeated the scourge of terrorism.
The president also thanked the media and ulema for creating awareness about the pandemic, adding mosques were kept open during the pandemic.
He also called upon the media to meet its responsibility in this regard and work for the training of society, adding mosques and pulpits were very important pillars of society.
The president urged the entire nation, particularly the political leadership, ulema, the media, and the youth, to work together to address the country's social, economic, and security concerns.