Pakistan Bee » Politics

Hectic political efforts to end deadlock

PakBee — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:54:33 +0000

ISLAMABAD: All major political parties are making hectic efforts to end the deadlock created by a sudden change in PML-N chief’s stance on the 18th amendment, although Mian Nawaz Sharif reiterated his demand on Monday for changes in the provision about judicial appointments in the draft prepared by the parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms.

And the issue on which the committee had failed to arrive at a consensus, the renaming of the NWFP, remained unresolved but the government was optimistic about reaching an agreement among all parties in a few days.

ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan told reporters after a meeting with Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, chairman of the committee for constitutional reforms, that the committee’s mandate was to resolve all issues, including the renaming of the NWFP.

Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif held a press conference and again justified the change in his stance and rejected allegations that he had taken a U-turn.

According to sources, the ANP leadership was assured by PML-N leaders in the evening that the issue of NWFP’s new name would be resolved after a meeting of the N-League scheduled for Tuesday.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani contacted Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour who belongs to ANP and some PML-N leaders to discuss various steps to resolve the contentious issues.

Sources at the Prime Minister’s House said the government was hopeful of reaching an accord on the constitutional package by Wednesday.

According to sources, the chief of ANP’s NWFP chapter, Senator Afrasayab Khattak, led a delegation to the residence of PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to discuss the possibility of getting the constitutional reforms approved by parliament without the support of the PML-N.

PML-Q’s provincial chief Amir Muqam told the ANP delegation that his party would not accept ‘Pakhtunkhwa’ as the new name of the NWFP, but promised to cooperate if Abasin, Khyber or Afghania was added to it.

The PML-Q constituted a five-member committee headed by Mr Muqam to hold talks on the issue.

The entire leadership of the PML-N, including Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was in Islamabad, apparently anticipating a meeting with top government leaders.

Nawaz Sharif, who also had an off the record interaction with senior journalists, rejected a perception that he had sabotaged the reforms and said he had acted in national interest.

Mr Sharif put all the blame for the discord on Law Minister Babar Awan and said that premature announcement made by him about the package had caused the logjam.

He said it was wrong to assume that a consensus had been reached on the issues of renaming the NWFP and the procedure for appointment of judges.

He said it was better for the committee to deliberate for a few more days rather than letting the issues become contentious in parliament.

Mr Sharif said his party did not trust the PPP leadership which dissolved the PML-N government in Punjab and got him and his brother disqualified by what he called a ‘kangaroo court’.

He also said that he had no regrets over the stand he had taken on the crucial issue.

Mr Sharif blamed the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for the current political chaos and said it was trying to link every issue with repeal of the 17th Amendment.

He said the PPP wanted to include a senior judge of its choice in the judicial commission. “It was unacceptable because three of the seven members were already representatives of the government.”

He described as ‘half-baked’ the constitutional package which was to be tabled in parliament.

He said some matters were still under discussion when the government announced that it would table the document in the National Assembly and that President Asif Ali Zardari would address a joint session of the two houses of parliament before that.

Mr Sharif also called for curtailing the president’s powers in ‘one go’ before moving to other reforms contained in the constitutional package.

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Ejaz warns against tempering with Zia’s titile

PakBee — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:50:17 +0000

KARACHI: Muslim League Zia President Ejaz ul Haq on Monday said that if title of General (r) Zial ul Haq as President of Pakistan was removed from the Constitution then all titles of former PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto would also have to be removed.

Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club (KPC), he said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the country’s first civilian martial law administrator.

About renaming of NWFP as Pakhtoonkhwa, Haq said that no party has got the right to change the name of any province.

To a question, he said that Mian Nawaz Sharif was a seasoned politician, who could not change his stance on just one phone call.

He further said that recently held Punjab by-elections were the referendum of people.

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Nawaz not to contest by-polls due to Salman Butt: Liaquat

PakBee — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:34:03 +0000

LAHORE: The General Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Liaquat Baloch has said Sunday, PML-N chief Mian Mohammed Nawaz Sharif decided not to contest on NA-123 seat in by-elections due to JI’s contender Hafiz Salman Butt, running for the same seat, Geo news reported.

Addressing the by-election campaign rally, he said JI’s nominee Salman Butt beat Mian Salahuddin in 1985 polls and defeated former Governor Pujnab Mian Azhar in 1990 polls on NA-123 seat, therefore, for fear of his defeat seemingly looming, Nawaz Sharif would rather avoid than to run in by-polls.

He hoped for JI’s Hafiz Butt to repeat history by winning by-polls once again.

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Munawar slams Zardari, Gilani on judges row

PakBee — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:02:43 +0000

KARACHI: In a scathing attack on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hasan on Sunday descried them as two sides of a forged coin.

Speaking to newsmen after attending the party’s CEC meeting here, he demanded that the contempt of court action should be initiated against President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani in connection with issuance of illegal notifications about judges’ appointment.

“Prime Minister Gilani is not that innocent that he is unaware of presidential order,” he said, adding the present situation proves that the government has declared a showdown with state organs.

He was of the view that present judicial crisis would mostly dent the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

To a question, the JI Amir said that the state institutions were heading toward confrontation, which would deteriorate the situation even further. He also lauded the two judges for not accepting presidential orders about their elevation.

Hasan announced that the JI along with other parties and civil society would stage a demonstration outside the Supreme Court to express solidarity with judiciary. He also appealed to people for support for the supremacy of law.

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Imran for justice above roti, kapra, makan

PakBee — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:58:20 +0000

QUETTA: Tehrik-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan on Sunday said that Pakistan needed justice more than PPP’s slogan ‘roti kapra and makan’ (bread, clothing and shelter).

In a telephone address to his party’s workers at Quetta Press Club, he said that the government wanted to bring the judges of its own choice. However, he said that his party would fully resist any such move by the government.

Khan urged the need for waging a struggle to get social and education justice besides judicial justice.

The PTI chief also called for the formation of an independent election commission along with judiciary so that the foundation of a free and fair election could be laid down in the country.

“A section of the country is doing politics either in the name of Islam or Mahajar,” he pointed out.

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Nawaz terms Zardari as biggest threat to democracy

PakBee — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:55:53 +0000

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) will not allow the government to go scot-free, the party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif warned terming President Asif Ali Zardari as the biggest danger to the democracy.

Addressing the packed hall of journalists after the party’s meeting, he said it seemed that the government does not accept the restored judiciary.

The democracy never before faced such a great threat as now in the form of President Zardari, who has become the gravest danger to democracy, he said.

The PML-N condemns the incident that occurred yesterday, as the event plunged the country in the uncertainty and the President House outgrew its limits, Sharif told.

He said yesterday’s incident was an action re-play of November 3, 2007, adding the government is targeting the judiciary to safeguard its corruption in preference for their corruption to the respect for the judiciary.

The Army should have the role stipulated in the Constitution, he said.

Nawaz Sharif said he forcefully warned the government to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution, adding his party categorically rejects the autocratic method adopted by the government.

He said the judiciary was restored by the people not the government which only issued a notification, informing the journalists that he had told Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani a day before not to delay the implementation on the recommendations of judges’ appointments.

However, the following day, something else surfaced, he added demanding the recommendations of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry should be immediately put into action.

Nawaz said the PML-N wants to make it abundantly clear to the government in unequivocal terms that it would not be allowed to go its way on judges’ appointments nor would it be spared the chance for corruption.

‘We can make harsh decisions in the coming days and will protest in and outside the Parliament and mobilize the masses. We will not allow anyone to spoil the institutions for personal motives,’ he said.

Had the Charter of Democracy been implemented, then there would not have been these problems, he asserted demanding President Zardari to bring back to Pakistan his wealth siphoned off to Swiss accounts; this is the money hard-earned by the people of Pakistan.

The country has been turned into a circus, he added.

The people of Pakistan will take care of all affairs, the Army should not be dragged into them; nor should the Army get itself involved in such affairs, he said.

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Sheikh Rashid survives armed Attack

PakBee — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:08:56 +0000

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rashid survived an armed attack on his election office here on Monday.

Sheikh Rashid received minor injuries on his leg when he fell on the ground at the time of the attack. However, four of his guards were killed in the attack.

Armed assailants carrying Kalashnikov(s) attacked Sheikh Rashid outside his election office when he was heading on foot to attend a public meeting.

Eaerlier, Javed Qureshi, the personal assistant of Sheikh Rashid confirmed the attack while talking to Geo News from 1122 ambulance in which Sheikh Rashid was being shifted to hospital.

President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered inquiry into the attack and submission of its report immediately.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also ordered the commissioner and RPO to investigate into the incident.

Some of the bullets hit the Land Cruiser of Sheikh Rashid shattering its window panes.

Later, workers of AML took to the streets to protest the attack.

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MQM – Party of not just Sindh but Pakistan

PakBee — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:45:24 +0000

MULTAN: Member of MQM Coordination Committee Iftikhar Akbar Randhawa Saturday claimed that the public meeting of his party scheduled to be held in Lahore on February 28 will prove that MQM is not just a party of Sindh but of the entire Pakistan.

He said this while talking to journalists here at Multan Press Club.

Iftkhar Akbar Randhawa said MQM is the only political party that is struggling for the rights of 98 percent people belonging to the poor segments of the society.

He said Altaf Hussain aspires for establishment of a system based on justice by eliminating price hike, unemployment and corruption.

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Gilani hits back to US

PakBee — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:06:20 +0000

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday regretted the insinuation emanating from the US about Pakistan’s sincerity in the war against terror. He asked which other country of the world had made more sacrifices than Pakistan in the campaign to eradicate the common enemy. He refuted the reports about the existence of a Quetta Shura or the Afghan Taliban leadership in Pakistan and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to fence its border with Afghanistan in case the US could persuade the Afghan government to do so.

Talking to a US delegation led by Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, Gilani said greater trust building was in the interest of a long-term strategic partnership between the two countries. He underscored the need to bridge the existing trust deficit between Pakistan and the United States. The prime minister reassured the delegation of his government’s sincere efforts to build upon their traditionally cordial bilateral ties, spanning over 60 years.

However, he urged the US to ensure an early disbursement of the long overdue payments under the Coalition Support Fund, the speedy provision of drone technology and sharing of credible and actionable intelligence with Pakistani agencies.

He urged the US and other major world powers to use their influence with India to help resolve the Kashmir dispute to enable Pakistan to exclusively focus on its western border.

Gilani hoped that the US and the international community would fulfill their commitments to support Pakistan in building the capacity of its law enforcement agencies and undertake the required development in the under-developed areas in order to address the root cause of militancy.

Senator Levin said that bipartisan consultations would be organized to resolve the issue as soon as possible. He appreciated Pakistan’s critical and vital role as the frontline state in the war against terror and lauded the success achieved by the Pakistan’s armed forces in Malakand and South Waziristan regions. Levin said he was more optimistic than ever that the Pakistan-US ties were destined to go from strength to strength. The US senator assured Prime Minister Gilani that disbursement of the Coalition Support Fund would be fast-tracked and support to Pakistan’s exports to US markets would be increased.

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Media! You are next

PakBee — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:09:13 +0000

RAWALPINDI: The PPP Punjab President Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan and senior provincial minister Raja Riaz Ahmad Khan have declared that enough is enough and from now on, the party would adopt the course of confrontation instead of the traditional conciliatory policy so far adopted.

They said Kamran Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Ansar Abbasi and Dr Shahid Masood should not become movers and shakers in politics. The hands of those who are attempting to demolish the government would be amputated.

They were talking at the PPP provincial secretariat in Lahore on Monday after presiding over the meeting of the party’s executive council, federal council, district presidents and general secretaries. They said right from the beginning our politics had been based on ideology.

They warned that those targeting the Aiwan-e-Sadr and residing in palaces built of glass would not be spared. They said the PPP had offered tremendous sacrifices for democracy and the country’s security. Now that we are in power it is because of the leadership of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.

Raja Riaz said power to the PPP had not come through charity but because of a heavy mandate given by the people. Criticizing Geo TV channel, he warned Kamran Khan and Dr. Shahid Masood to avoid becoming champions of politics. The hands of those who tried to dismantle the democratic government will be amputated.

Expressing complete confidence in the party leadership Raja Riaz said the PPP is facing a media trial but everyone must know that the party and Pakistan are inseparable.

PPP leaders also criticised Shaheen Sehbai, Group Editor of The News, and Ansar Abbasi, Editor Investigations of The News for their writings. It was alleged that Ansar Abbasi writes an elegy every day.

Earlier while addressing the meeting, PPP Punjab General Secretary Samiullah Khan said the party of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed would not be run according to “Terey, Merey Mutabiq” but the aspirations of the people. Lambasting Geo television channel, he said out of the 841 NRO beneficiaries only one man and the Swiss case was being singled out. Samiullah said the PPP would resist if the judiciary oversteps its constitutional mandate.

The PPP Punjab President Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan warned each and every organisation to confine their activities within the given parameters. He said we are not afraid of jails or police stations as we consider them as medals. Rana Aftab lambasted the intriguers and others who had launched criticism of the party leadership and said henceforth they will be confronted with full force

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