President Dr Arif Alvi has said that in his personal capacity, he had been and still trying to bring stakeholders together on one table and resolve their differences by democratic means of discussion, consultation and deliberation and to find mutually agreed upon solutions on major issues and matters to reduce the political polarisation in the greater national interest. The President expressed these views during an interactive meeting with a delegation of Lahore-based journalists, at Governor House, Lahore, today. The President said that keeping in view the heightened political polarisation in the country, he had been trying in his personal capacity to bring the stakeholders on one table and provide them the opportunity to discuss and negotiate the possibility of mutually agreed upon solutions to the issues and conflicts which may reduce political polarisation in the country. He said that he would continue his efforts toward reducing the political polarisation, adding that his efforts had made some impact towards reducing the distance from extreme positions to some extent. He said that efforts had been made and would continue to be made within the frame work of the constitution and laws of the land for bringing political stability in the country. The President said that the country needed strong and effective institutions and every endeavour should be made for strengthening them and enabling them to perform their respective functions in accordance with the constitution. The President said that all stakeholders may sit together and may decide upon a mutually agreed upon date for the next General Elections which should be held in a free, fair and transparent manner, which he hoped would help reduce the political temperature. He further said that the stakeholders should also consider discussing the use of technology to bring efficiency, transparency and fairness in elections. He said that the government and institutions should focus on a greater vision and mission and should avoid getting embroiled into petty matters and issues of narrow scope. The President stated that there was a need to focus our time, energies and efforts to embrace new and emerging technologies, developing out of the box solutions to resolve issues and challenges and to develop capability to avail each and every opportunity to take the country forward on the path of progress and development. He further said that issues like inflation, economy, improving service delivery and reducing political polarization were pressing issues which, in his opinion, needed to be addressed on priority. Replying to a question, the President said that Arshad sharif sent him a letter about threats to his life and he forwarded that letter along with his comments to the Prime Minister. He said that media was an integral part of the democratic dispensation and it should perform its functions freely without any intimidation or harassment under the relevant provisions of the constitution and laws. The President said that fake news was like a “Gheebat”, similarly any statement presented out of reference and context also sometimes led to serious consequences. He said that we should train ourselves to verify every news and should not become an instrument for promoting fake and unverified news. Replying to a question, he said that our country needed to focus on imparting quality education, and market-based research and development and bringing 25 million out of school children to schools by applying out of the box solutions. He said that we should also focus our energies for the prevention of diseases through promoting healthy life style, creating awareness about early diagnosis, controlling malnutrition and stunting and providing balanced diet to the vulnerable population. The President also said that we should educate our people to provide them the skills, knowledge and information to counter global warming and mitigate its harmful impacts and putting in place low-cost solutions to reduce the impact of natural calamities. *
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