"The Constitution permits me to keep both the offices and I will not violate the Constitution," the President said, though there is no mention of leaving the office of army chief in either the Constitution or the accord with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).
The President reaffirmed that Parliament and the government will complete their terms, local government elections will commence in April next year, fight against terrorism will continue, writ of the government will be further strengthened and all mega development projects would be completed.
The President appealed to the opposition to accept the verdict of the Parliament and desist from imposing the 'will of minority on the majority'.
"I extend hand of friendship to the opposition. It should give up the politics of confrontation and strengthen democracy, and not weaken it," he said with a stern face in his 40-minute speech.
Sharply focussing on the opposition's anti-government campaign in the Parliament, he said its behaviour has been against what he called the spirit of democracy and democratic traditions.
However, he held out that the present Parliament would complete its tenure, mainly thanks to the concept of checks and balances.
He also briefly touched upon the Kashmir issue and a few other foreign policy issues mainly to stress his point that his keeping both the offices was necessary. He said he would never compromise on the Kashmir dispute which, he said, needed to be resolved in the light of UN resolutions and participation of the Kashmiris at some later stage.
President Musharraf also promised to further strength the missile and nuclear potential of the country.
He said he always fulfilled his promises made to the people of Pakistan including devolution of power, holding of "free and fair elections" in 2002, which is evident from strong opposition that was elected.
He could, but did not, prolong military rule by seeking extension from the Supreme Court in the aftermath of 9/11 events, he added.
The President said after having achieved sound macro-economic fundamentals, the country is poised to embark on a road to prosperity with the completion of the ongoing mega projects within three years, a focussed four-pronged drive for poverty alleviation and early announcement of starting big dams for the country.
He devoted a good portion of his 40-minute address to the economic reinvigoration from the imminent collapse before he took over and the present buoyant state of economy, thus, becoming the first country to say goodbye to IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Programme.
Asserting that he did not believe in political slogan mongering, the President recalled how the country was on the verge of being declared a failed state and now we are in a strong position to successfully undertake reduction in poverty.
He said for this purpose a four-pillar poverty reduction strategy has been adopted. These are: accelerated economic growth; development projects in the rural and urban areas; human resource development especially in health and education; and targeted intervention through Khushali Bank and Zakat fund.
With regard to the construction of a major water reservoir, the President said that he would give good news to the nation in near future.
He assured that the economy will be further strengthened, poverty reduced and the country's strategic assets, including nuclear and missile capability would be further enhanced.
Referring to the situation in October 1999, President Musharraf said the economy was on the verge of collapse, national coffers were empty, the country was faced with technical default, expenditure was seven to eight percent higher than income, balance of payment was in deficit by four billion dollars and the country's credit rating was at 'selective default' level.
Extremism and militancy was on the rise, nepotism was the order of the day, corruption prevailed in all corporations and state institutions and they were being plundered and mismanaged.
The country was about to be declared a failed state. Transparency International had placed Pakistan second highest in the list of corrupt countries.
He said today the country's economy is on sound footing and all economic indicators are positive.
The GDP growth will go up to 8 percent in few years from 6.4 percent last year, foreign exchange reserves are strong, the government bore financial burden of 40 billion rupees before increasing oil prices despite steep rise in international market due to our strong economy.
The President said Pakistan is the first country to join and leave the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) programme. We refused to take the last tranche of 262 million dollars from the IMF for this programme.
He said today we are not required to go for financial institutions and donor countries for loans with a begging bowl. The government is out of IMF conditionalities and our credit rating, which was at the rock bottom, has improved remarkably.
President Musharraf said today all corporations and institutions are showing good performance including railways, PIA and Wapda. Turning to the launching of mega projects, he said about 18 projects launched in 2001 are nearing completion and being inaugurated like Mekran Coastal Highway. These projects has reduced the travel distance to just three hour.
He said the Chinese Prime Minister would be visiting early next year to join in the inauguration of Gwadar deep-sea port.
He said Rs 66 billion are being spent on dams, canals and brick lining of water courses to boost agriculture for poverty alleviation in rural areas. Small and medium enterprises are developing fast and will provide more jobs to jobless in urban areas.
The government has given concessions to construction and building industry and today there is great demand for skilled labour. With regard to human resource development, the federal and provincial governments are working on this programme and funds allocation has been made in this regard.
He said the poorest of the poor are being targeted by giving loan through Khushhali Bank and releases of Zakat.
He said about 400,000 people have been given Rs20,000 each and expressed his confidence that in coming years poverty will be brought down.