President Zardari's first speech to the joint session of the Parliament as the head of the state can well be assessed as a good, succinct and balanced address in the contexts of our parliamentary history where such addresses particularly since the 90s stole thundering by opposition groups. He stole the show by making his speech in pin dropped silence, a necessity his predecessor could not fulfil. Having lasted not more than half an hour, it focused on the major principles of state polices his government needs to define and implement. Like any inaugural speech by the head of the state, it was too wisely and shrewdly planned in a written form and not at extempore. President under the 1973 constitution is a non-party man and remains above party line, but his speech represented his commitment to the cause and manifesto of PPP and its forerunner leaders whose deaths largely were because of their commitment for the promotion of democracy. Bhutto and Benazir both had a dream of seeing Pakistan emerge as a strong and democratic nation which having been run by the long praetorian ruler type role was drifted from true representative lines. The formative phase of his speech was sentimental and a symbolic reflection of the services of the two leaders to which he owed his existence as the president of the country. President Zardari said that the days of constitutional deviation are over and that he and his party had a dream to fight the growing menaces of terrorism, hunger and backwardness. However, he rightly pointed out that the world has become dangerous place for the countries with conflicts at borders. Pakistan is one of the countries which has tense relations with two of its immediate neighbours - India and Afghanistan. He justified his invitation to Hamid Karzai on the oath taking ceremony in a joint press conference. To him, it was the right time for reconciliation. He also focused on the need for re-establishing good relations with India, and especially with Iran - our friend with whom unfortunately in the past our relationship met dimness in cordiality due to out growing dependence on the US and support for Taliban. He did not touch upon the dependence factor with US but stressed the need for Pakistan's independent stand on issues. He talked about strong a Federation and tried to highlight the necessity of winning of the trust of the small provinces. It was particular in case of Balochistan which he correctly referred to as the less privileged province of the country. He also mentioned to releasing of the ex CM of Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal. Similarly, he tried to keep his ally political party, ANP, boosted by committing his pledge for the renaming of NWFP as Pakhtoonkwa. A similar pledge was made by Nawaz when he was the PM in 1997 but could not fulfil his commitment. On the other hand, the decision for abolishing of 58-2(b) will be made in future. Time will show how far he is upright in his promise to be the first president with 58-2(b) to disband it. President Asif Ali Zardari's address, being attended by the members of the two houses of Parliament and the dignitaries of the state and diplomatic hierarchy, was overall a good one. Being not too long and undoubtedly well focused, it attracted almost every one. It can serve as a good policy making speech provided it is implemented in good spirit. The writer is a freelance columnist