PARLIAMENT DEBATES

PARLIAMENT OF PAKISTAN
(JOINT SITTINC)
Thusttay, the sah September, 1974
The Houses of Parliament of l'akistalr met, in Joint Sitting, in the Assembjy
Chamber (State Bank Building). Islamabad, at fifty live minutes past five of the
clock, in the evening, Mr. Speaker (Sahibzada Farooq Ali) in the Chair.
Recitation from the Holy Qurlan
ADDRESS OF WELCOME

Mr. Speakcr : Madam Prirne Minister, it is my proud privilege to welcome

you on the occasion of your visit to our Parliament. I extend to you the rvarmesl
greetings of the members of Parliament and the people of Pakistan. This
historic occasion will live in our memories for a long time.
May I fust thank your Excellency Ior doing us this singular honour of addressing the Parliament of Pakistan.
We have been looking forward to this visil for a loug time. Our hearts urc
sincerest feelings of friendship and warmest regards for you and for
the great people of Sri Lanka. The people of Pakistan have very close and
friendly relations with the people of Sri Lanka of which )'ou are the illustrious
leader and we look upon you as one of our sincerest friends.

full of the

Madam hime Minister, you have stood by us during our difficult davs and
for which we are deeply gateful to you.

sharcd our worries

Madam Prime Minister, you are privileged to lead a nation\vhich has solid
traditions of religious and moral values. IJnder your dynamic leadership, Sri
Lanka has made its presence felt iu world counsels and created a place for itself
in the comity of nations.
You have steered your country aBd people out of many crisis and have
given your pople a new orientation in all the walks of life through a democratic
process and laid the foundations of a peaceful and orderlv political evolution.

Madam Prime Minister, we have watched with adn)iration vour adroit

handlbg of the affa,irs of your country. Your political insight and acumen is r
source of inspiration for all of us.
Your Excellency, we have also havc afler matry years of troubles, laid a basis

for social and economic well-being of our people under a dcmocratic system
involving total participation of the people. We arc brcaking the shackles of
exploitation and have set our course towards the chcrished goal of economic
and social justice.

PARLIAMENT OF PAKISTAN

[5rx serr.,

1974

Your Excellency, I believe Sri Lanka and I'akistan hxvc many things in
common. We have workcd together in close cooperaaion in the past. I have
every hope that in future also our coopration wilt grow in all fields and both
the countries will benefit from this mutual cooperatron. Your visit and stay
in our country will go a lnng way in stlengthclirg our relations and increasing
cooperation between them.
Madam Prime Minister, through you, mily

convey the best wishes

oI

the

of Pak;stan to ihe people of Sti Lanka. In .he end let mc again express
nty deep gratitude 10 )'ou for finding tjne to address the members of Parliamcnt
people

of

PakistaD.

Thank you very much

Mrr Zdflk,I' AE Dlu{o (Prime Mirieier of PokistarD : I\4a Speatcr, Sir,

it is bolh a privilego and a plcasure for me to invite dte Prjme MioisEE of Sri

Lanka, our honoured g e6t, 10 addrsss this sessioI} of Pantiamnt. It is. Dost
befitting that Head of Government of a frieDdly country should be the first
foreign leader to perform this distinctiye function since we adopted our prmanent
Constitution more than e year aCo. I an saying this not oDly out of cordialily
o[ sentiment but also because of certain objective considerations. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have chosen democracy as their way of life; both have
modelled their polirical system on the parliamenlary pattern, though in our case
it was unhappily displaced, for a decade and a half; both are wedded to the
rule_ of law: bot[ beJie,ve tbat democrnay qr]nDot be stabili&d qrlla it is
iortified by institutions: both ara engagd in rhe slrugJe to enJarge and
consolidale the frecdom ojoyed by the common maIL
Democracy, as we know, requires an environmant of peace; trot to speak
of' tbc dbvoftopirg countries a,nd the third wodd, evcn the-riature saciery of the
afruent world can fall a prey to fission and to disrulion ol their institutions
undgr the pr{ssure of international friction and war. IL is qr undedaD}e lact
that both Sri Lalka and. Pakistan are co@Eit{ed to iorernatjonal. peace aod
security and to lhe rjghl6 of sorall SJates to live in frFedom froln fe5.
Of Course all Sta{es cao claim to. be peoe-loving. but lba claim is valid, ody
for States which encourage, spe.ific saulment of disputc on tlc basis. at juticg,
and work actively to removc the shadow of the nuclear threat which darkens
Eankiod's har.lzan, Both Staros abundaltly fulfil this. criteria. This lBnls rcality
to the independencE of our. furar8rt peligrr with tro tk)rrgh& ot a$lendirom.nt i,t
cur mind and no intent to usurf thq rjghts of otlrcrs. Wq feel we have rnorc
stnongith to app[cach each interndtional issue on it,, mcrils.

With these words,

to address this joint

feel honoured to invite the Primq Mi.nister of Srr LArikg

session

of the Senate and National

Assembly.

AEDRESS BY TFIE PRIi{E IT,IINISL'E* OF SRI,LAIiIKA

H. E.. Ml*. llHurvo Beldrryrfue (Frim Miristar of Sri [,anka) :
tlonoursblE Chaima* of the Scnate, honourable. Spcakcr and homucble
Mcmbers of National Assembly, I am obliged to you, for BiviDti nrr, fu oppofrroir,
during my visit to your great oouDtry to. address this joint session qf the
hdiament of Pakistan. I have myself been a tvlemtrer of our ewn furliameqt
sime I entered politics in 1960. I am, thcreforc, not only conscious of the
honour you have conferred upon me today in invitirg me to spcak to you,
b{* dF of the inportarce placed upon a spech nade on such.an. occesion

SDREss BY I.HE FRnfE MI.MliEi OF sRI

T,-\NKA

I ralue tlris opportunity because I would like to toql you, and thrdfrih
yfi, I hope to a widdr audlence throughout Pakis:3n, sornethihg of our hopes
and aspirations, altd the experience of my Government, since it came into

powr,

in

securing these hopes and aspirations.

My owh Govcr-nment came into power in 1970 lrccause lhe pcople of Sri
Lenk8, I should like to say, for the first time since she rcgainr\i independence
fiom co{onial rulo in February 1948. voied for teal ch;r,rge. Ioi change dh
issues ot which they themselves had laksn the jnitiative and shown leadership.
Ia teqpohse to ttrcir wishes, I fornred a Unirid F-ron1 consisting ot 6y dvir
Party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the Lanka Sarna Samaja Party ahd
the Communist Parl.y. and upon the Lasis of a common progrxnlrnc drawn up
id M68, fought the General Elections in 1970. Ihe oulcome o[ that Electjon
is how recorded history: the United Front defea'ed the ruling Unilcd National
Hfly aild oblained lt5 seats in a t,egislative Asserrrirly conrjisting of 157
Meffbers. That is a record for a democratic election in reccni tinres of rvhich
a\y political pady can bs justly proud. Yet, I should like to s1)-, tha.: thc
sitltiflcance of that result lay noi so much, or Derhrp" es much, in the failure
of the tJ ited National Pafty to command support frorr the 3lectorate to form
evcn an effective Opposition, but rather in the lact tr)at the l.jnjted Front
scculed a {"\yd-thirds majority in the National S(a1e Assombly.
The demohstration of such support for the United Front deri..,ing, as it
dld, from wideiy scattered electorates throughout the country, was a mandate
td nly Government tJ implement the common prcEranirle upon whic,h we
went to the polls. My Government can only servive as long as ve hold thc
conftdence of the men and woriren who voied and put us iir(o powcr and u,ho
are, in the last analysis, the ultimate politicat suvireign. So I am happy to
ba able to say thdt we have used their sacred trust in us Lo inrplemcn: their
wishes and to bring about through a legislative progralnne both fundamental
and structural changes in the social and econornic lilc of Sri t-anka. These
chantes have done AE6y sith the liniittltion od hot soygrdistt{v and aie a
beark with her colonial past. They will no doubt he!-e far-reaching consequences
for her gre{ter good and her future l?U.belng.

An iriportant Espect of these hahges is tHe adoFtion of the Reprlblican

Constitutioh of 2?nd May, 1972; a Constitlrtlon alerivirlg its aultiority from the
people d,f Sri L.ddka and not from the power afld authoiity irlslrtfled iirid erercised
by lhe British Crown ahd Pdrliamint from which 'the prcvious Conr.titi.ltiori had
dlrived its sustcnahce. The Seratc of th. fifelioirs Con:tiirrlldh ifas abolished
in Dedcriiber, 1971, and with its abolitlon a unlcaiteral le3islalure now enshrined
in the Republican Constitution, came into beihg- 'fhe solcrcigr!'.y of the lxople
of Sri Lanka is nof,, exercised thmugh her eleeted iepiestritatives. while the
State Power in the Republic is vested in the Naiional Asscrnbly rvhich enjoys
thc lcfisiative, executive zihd judicial power o[ the peooic. And that we'rire
commltted to the cteation of a socialistic societl, irr Sri Lank,r har beelr written
i,tto th6 Preaffble of the Cdhstitlltli.}ri, which states cleaily thrt the Reoublic is
'pledged to realize the objectives of d socialistic derhocricy'.
needs of altered realitits. other changes swiftly
to accord with the chaaging-Rcpuhlic.
lmplicit ;ri rhc iew Consri.iurion was
folldwed updh rhe lrihh of ti-c
thc rtccd for chahges in the fields of jtrdicial and public adrninistration. In the
forllrr, lve have abolished appedls to lhc Privv Council ond hare re-orcanize,.l
the old systetll of judiciirl administration b', inl iod i.rcl iciil of a new decenir.rlized
system of judicial institutions. In {he Iie!C o[ public adminii.tratlon, my Govern.
ment hes attmpted to bring tlre Adnrinistrative Service into closer dnd more
intimate contaet with the people throEgh the hclp df Aclvisory Committcds in

PARLIAMENT OF PAKISTAN

[STH SEPT., 1974

Governmeci departments, People's Committees in the villages and Workers'

Counclls in ihe factories and other work places, so that a greater sense of
participation has been engendered among all conccrned in the management of
ihe day+o-day affairs of the country. It is a participation that goes right down
to iiie grass-root leyel. What we are aiming at is the eradication of the colonial
mentality of the Public Service, supercillious relations between sorcalled master
and servar,t, and the creation instead of a Public Scrvant who is dedicated to
the ideal of real service to those whom he is meant to serve. lr is an experiment
and participation of a kind the like of which I am not sure has been tried out
elsewhere before, and I am happy to be able to say that the results of tbc
experiment have been most encouraging.
Another far reaching experiment we have launched in rccent times with the
aim of achieving greater democratisation of the rdminisiration is the setting up
of a system of Political Authorities. The Annual Budget has been decentralized
io a significant extent and money is allocated lo the l'oliticzil Authorities, who
have been appointed to cach Adrninistrative District. T'hese Authorities are all
Members of Parliament and, therefore, the elected representatives of the people
and at the moment they are, in most cases, either Ministers or Deputy Ministers.
The task of the Poliiical Authority is to work in close coordination with the
Chief Administrative Authority of each district in.order to formulate, process,
moniior and implement development project in each district and to determine
how the money allocated on the decentr+lized budget shorrld be spent. This
new system has given real po-urer to the elected represenlativcs and also given them
meaningful part 1o pla, in the deyelopment process. So far I am glad to be
able to state tlrat this experiment is proyjng'to be a great success and an indicator
of not onl1, the greater speed with which work in the districts is moving, but
also, on rhe whole, a remarkablc absence of conflict between the permanent
officials and the Political Authorities. Tbis system lras evoked nuch intcrest in
several countlies and we have been ask,:d for details by some others as to the
working of {he system and our experience so far.

In our commitment to a rapid advance towards a socialist democrscy, wc haw

attempted to break through the traditional relationship bdtween man and agricultural land, and introduced instead the socially ,and morally more mcaningful policy
cf placing thc land equitably in the hands of as wide a sedtion of our people
as we possibly can. To this end the I-and Rcforms Law of 1972 placed a cciling
upon the ownership of agricultural land : the maximum amount of agricultural land
rvhich may be owned by any pexon is 25 acres in the case of paddy and 50 acres
for other land. Any land in excess of this ceiling will be taken over by the l-and
Reforms Commission. The Land Reform programmc, has now brought nearly half
r. million acres of land for redistribution in economically viable units. Substantial extenls of this land which have been alienatdd and which are now being redistiibrited are also being organized as group farms on a cooperative basis.
We have taken other puryoseful measures to make our society more egalitarian
and to prevent exploitation. Some of these measures are, a ceiling placed on the
ownership of houses, ceiling on expendable incomes and the capital levy. A law has
been enacted to get foreign companies operating in Sri Lanka to register themslves
locally. All these measure! have been taken to broad.base owlership as well as
ihe distribution of wealth. We have been dtermined that 3 or 4 pcr cent of our
people should Dot fnd in any way our policies the moons and thc wheref,.ithal to
enrich themselves at the expnse of over 90 per cent. I am personally vcry glad
that these measures and our objectives in gencral have been rocognized in intcrnational forums and by international Agencics as worthy of emulation.

I have spoken to you at some length of the mandate my Govemment reccivd

from the people: how, in response to the wishes of our people and the realities of.
our times, we have attempted to cure the diminution there was rpon our sovercignty-

ADDRESS BY THE PRINIE ]\IINISTER OF SRI LANKA

to break away from the shackles of our colonial past, of what changes we have
wrought in the transformation of our social, economic and administratiye structure
in order to enable our people to live in human dignity as free men.

and

Shce I have dealt with at some length about our hopes and aspirations, I feel I
should also tell you something about their relevance to the foreigo policy of Sri
Lanka and why my Covernment thinks it necessary to pursue that policy. For
foreign policy cannot b created in a vaccunl: it must grow out of our national
aspirations and patterns of events in our environment, and it must need to take
ac.ount of the eyolviug relationships of the Great Powers and their increasing

I
I

thrust into lhe Ocean in our region.

If we put our minds back to about 25 years we see that in the vast area
from what was then the Indian Sub{ontinent to the further shores of the South
West Pacific, an area containing more than a quarter of the world's populalion,
all but 2 countries were under colonial domination. Yet 25 years later a change
of quite revolutionary dimension had taken place, for the unconquerable will
to be free had seized the peoples of these areas aDd led lhem to regain their
independence and establish onc more their national identity. The will never-tolose that indelrndence and identity is still the most powerful force today in
our region or, for that matter, in all regions where nations have regained their
losb freedom and independenc. That too is the motivating impulse upon which
is based our foreign policy, whose pursuit we combine wjth the wider needs of
the intrnational community. That is why rny Goverument has as its declared
objective the desire to maintain the nrost cordial and lriendly relations with all
States without regard to their size, their power and their ideology; to oppose
imperialism and colonialism in all its forms and manifestations; and racialism
old and new alike; to express solidarity and give support to all struggles for
national liberatioo agairst imperialism and colonialism; to subscribe to the
principles ag.reed at the Conference at Bandung in 1954, at Belgrade in 1961,
at Cairo in 1964, at Lusaka in 1970 and at Algiers in 1973 I and to pursue a
policy of tron-aligunent in our relations with Foreign Stales. This foreign policy
of ours is based upon the vieE, that no Government or social system is so evil
that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue pre\enting any country
to live together with it in mutual toleran@, submitting their difterences, where
thes exist, to a just and peaceful settlement.
I would lite to explain to you our policy of non-alignment at some length.
would like to do so because I feel that at no lrme in recent years has its relevance and validity been so vividly manifest as it is today-in all its urgent
reality. The rationale of our policy of non-aligoment is non-involvement in
Eilitsry elisncos or Power blocks, for involvement results in polarising nations
into opposing camps who base their relations with each other on a footing ot
political or military c.mpetition. That could lead 1(r tensions, and in turn to
coDft@tati@ snd evcntual coDflict on a global scale-a situation which is unthinkable, where the whole world could well be blown up darkly into oblivion by
the refinsme[t of destructive weapons that alions possess today. Non.align@t thqrforc cojoios thst the only positive, rational and civilised basis for the
resoluiiol of dispuies between natrclis is not b) rescrt to war but rather by
peaceful discussion. And the corollary to such a peaceful approach is the steady
pursuit of global disarmament and the eventual renunciation of rvar as a method
of resolving international disputes. As we see it, it is the one policy that car
ensurc a climate of peace upon which social and economic growth can be envisacd. It is the one policy that is an investment for the preservation of world
I

peace.

And so we have steadfastly pursued a policy of non-alignment with military

allianccs and Power blocs because we have desired to free ourselves from the
pressurcs of Great Power rivalries and devoted our energies 1o lhe great tasks

pARLIAtr,TENT

oF

pAKrsrAN

{STH sEpr., l9Z{

of oconomic devclopment and-social change which have teer se{ifiCy etRJtoal

by our colonial expe{ienoe. What howevd is now causi4 us tlE gf;r,jt cor_
crn is the recent development of the beginnings of Grett po\ er;ivalnies in
thc_ Asian Region. We Ieel that these moves iror only represent tlreats that
will impede our programmes for social change and economic developrnehL but
thot they could also well lead to situauons where small Sratcs dould'be cauqf,t
ip in these rivalries rnd s. forfeit their iadependence. They coulil coheivaSly
lgad.to 1 recurenc of patterns of Big Power rivalries which eventually bll io
the domilation of Asia by European Powers in the l?th century.

It is because of these fears lhat al the Non-aligled Conference in Cairo in

I proposed lhe eslablishment of a Peae Zone in the Indian Ocan. I
pmrsued this proposal at the Commonvrcalth Prirre Ministcrs' Confcrtrce in
Singapore in 1971, and prsonally presented it beforc the United Nations Gtneral
Asscmbly at its 26th Session ir October lg7l. My proposal was tlrat the Indlah
Occan should be made a zone of Peace. It should be free of the presetc of
Big Powers in a state oi rivalry and oompetition; that militofy lnstallations
established by these Powers should be dismantled and removod ; and thit it
M64

should be secured for lawful commercial end otbr peaceful uses atrd p{tsuih.
am happy 10 say that the proposal has since made good progress, rod th.t
at the 27th Session oI the United Natious General Assembly Session in 1972
tn ad hoc Committee was appointed to examihe the proF)sal ahd wort out

measures

for its implemetation.

Our relations with all the countries in our regi(m have becn mst gorditl.
fricndly and good-ncighboudy. I am happy to be able to say that our rolations
with Pakistan have been equally excellent. Our fundamental interests itr thi8
doy and agc coincidc very closely: if the tradc between our twD @urttries siIlEE
we attained indepcndence has been littte, it hes neyErthelcss becn consistEntly
goo'd. During the last few years however there has bcen a sub,stantial increase
in lhe volume of that trade and I am happy to note ihcreBsing cultural &nd
other contacts. As neighbours and trBding partncrs we share a high dcgreir
of inter-depcndence, and consequentially, a comon interest in seeing that ouf
rcgion does not become an area for competition and confrontation by the Creat
and Super Powers, for such confrontation can only be destructive and countsr.
productive of the well-being of our region, so populous aod yet so deprivcd
and poor. Above all, I think we have deep and endurlflg interest ln the preservation of peace-an investment in the peace of our region and the peacc of the
world in our time. I assure you, hollourable Centlemen, that my.Govemmeht
will do all it caD to promote and enlarge this great and abiding community df
intercst bctween our two countries.
(Applause)

Today we are living in a world where we are all interdepndent. The tcvotution in communications has not only s@ed up thr flow of ideas but has
also sharpened thc impact of any eveot or occuretrce happcring dne countly
on practically the entire internatid.al community. In the leisurely days of a
by.gbne age'one had perhaps only to be careful of the spread of dlsease from
onJ country to aDother, but in the inter-depeDdent world of today almost aflything spreads Iike disease. Thereforc, we speak of imported inflation, of irstabi-in our om currencies as a result of general international monetary instabllity
litv and the serious consequenc.es on vital matters such as our trade, commerca
and shipping by incidents- happening thousands of mites away from our o*'tt
boundaries-for example, the closure of the Suez Canel. Such examples can be
multiplied. But the lcssons that they tcrch us haY! to b learDed howeYer difr.
cult lhis may be, for there is no altemative, and the most important of such
lcssoos is the very urgent ad reol nccd for countries to work together. Peftaps'

ADDRESS BY THE PRITIE MINISTER OF SRI LANKA

this could be bctter attempted in the first instance on a regional basis. Perhaps,
it would bc quite appropriate and timely to work towards, in the fust instancc,
an Asian identity, an identity which could be based, as far as most of our countries in the region are concerncd, on similar historical expriences; similar experienccs of social and economic problems and very great cultural afrnities.

The creation of such an identity, if it is to be succcssful, should not be

dirccted against any particular set of countri,es or any power bloc, but should
be bascd on genuitre and positive considerations of thc necd and the necssity to
get togcther to solvc one's problems on a regional basis. This is a matter, I feel,
that is worthy of some attention and study.
Before I conclude, I think it s,ould not be out of place if I telt you, the
Rcprcscntatives of your pcoplc gathered here in this august Assembly, that
rhough my visit to Pakistan has been brief, yet it has been most memorable.
Ever)$,here I went I have been received with the utmost courtesy and shown
the gratest kindness, and I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the warmth
and generous welcome accorded to me and my party by the Govemment and
the lEople of Pakistan. I have had the opportunity to hear the views of your

to explain to them my own. I now leave

with a better understanding of your people and your lxrlicies, confident .that
otr thc basis of this rencwed understanding we will further strengthen the bonds
that havc bound our two countris in friendship over the years.

Govcrnmcnt and your leadcrs and

(Applause)

Mr. Chairman of the Snate, Mr. Speaker and honourable Members o[

lhis Assmbly, I thank you all for the patience with which you have listetred to
me.

(Applause)

Mr. Speeler: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, and thank you
very much the hon'ble Members.
The Joint Session is prorogued.
The Joint Sitting of Parliament was prorogued.

POPPI-1136/N.A,/13-9:t 6-400