Pakistan

Punjab tussle: Zardari 'disappointed' by PML-N's decision

Zardari disappointed by Punjab government's decision to remove PPP ministers.

Ppi/express February 27, 2011

President Asif Ali Zardari has said the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) will not allow anyone to derail the democratic process. The president added that he was disappointed by the Punjab government's decision to remove PPP ministers.

President Zardari made these statement while chairing a meeting of the PPP Sindh Core Committee at Bilawal House in Karachi.

The President accused the PML-N of re-starting the tradition of horse trading. He, however added that these latest developments would not influence the PPP's policy of carrying out "politics of reconciliation".

PPP Sindh ministers briefed the president about the political situation in the province and the status of developmental projects.

Sharmila slams horse trading

The country due to terrorism, economic issues, socio-geographic significance and internal challenges cannot afford a revival of “Chhanga Maanga” like horse trading and political confrontation, said Information Secretary Pakistan Peoples’ Party Women Wing Sindh, Ms. Sharmila Farooqi, in a statement issued in Karachi on Sunday.

“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz took the wrong decision of ousting PPP ministers from the Punjab cabinet at the time when the PPP already has implemented 21 points of Charter of Democracy and now is going to implement 10-point agenda given by the PML-N,” she said.

Farooqi said that after general elections, the PPP had strength to form a government in Punjab adding but it provided a chance to the PML-N honoring the mandate following CoD and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s policy of reconciliation.

She observed that the PML-N had taken steps to implement the agenda of elements who wanted instability in the country and wished to damage democracy, adding that PML-N was going to aid anti-democratic forces by encouraging horse trading.

Shahbaz slams PPP

Farooqi's statements follow Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's Sunday media address, where the Chief Minister held the PPP responsible for the crisis in Punjab.

Sharif, while addressing a ceremony at the Alhamra Hall in Lahore said that the 10 point agenda had been given to the PPP for the benefit of the nation. The Chief Minister accused the PPP of failing to abide by the Charter of Democracy. He also said the economy of the country was in dire straits and only Saudi Arabia, Turkey and China are willing to unconditionally help Pakistan.

Firdous strikes out at Nawaz

Federal Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan has blamed PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for not abiding by the Charter of Democracy.

Talking to the media in the Sambaryal area of Sialkot, the minister said the PML-N chief was responsible for the uncertain political situation in the country. She said the PPP has always challenged elements attempting to derail democracy. She said the government has done enough to eliminate the menace of terrorism, and has tried its best to resolve issues of the common man.

Babar Awan dismisses talk of elections

Federal Law Minister Babar Awan has said the constitution does not allow any mid-term or short term elections.

Taling to the media at Lahore Press Club, Awan said democracy needed time for its establishment, but unfortunately "some elements" don’t want it to flourish. He said the PPP sincerely worked on 75 per cent of the PML-N’s 10-point agenda. The law minister said that horse trading in politics is an unfair practice. He added that if anyone uses floor-crossing as a tool, it would harm the democratic environment.

COMMENTS (16)

Raja Naseer | 13 years ago | Reply While addressing a press conference in Lahore after a meeting of party members over the fate of the Punjab coalition government, Nawaz Sharif announced a parting of the ways with the PPP and elaborated at length why PML-N decided to embrace dissident members of its splinter party PML-Q, which he had hitherto rebuffed and refused to shake hands with. He said the members who did not violate PML-N policy and had been ‘duped’ into joining the king’s party would be welcomed back into the parent party’s fold. Much as he tries to gloss over it, the fact remains that he is once again opening the doors to horse-trading and the politics of defection a la the decade of the 1990s. The fate of the PML-Q Unification Bloc and, by implication PML-N, is in the hands of the Election Commission, which will decide whether or not the defection clause applies to this situation where a sizeable group has violated a party’s discipline. The PPP has announced its decision to sit on the opposition benches in Punjab, while not renouncing the politics of reconciliation. In fact, the joint team of PPP and PML-N reviewing the progress on the 10-point agenda termed it satisfactory and decided to continue cooperating on the issues on which consensus had been achieved. This is contrary to the impression Nawaz Sharif tried to give regarding the PPP’s failure to implement the agenda in the given timeframe of 45 days. This changing of gears by the PML-N is going to have short-term as well as long-term implications for the country.

Awais | 13 years ago | Reply when do we start understanding these games

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Zaka | 13 years ago | Reply Where is so called judiciary, where is popular suo moto? Are the Sharifs exempted from every dirt they play in Pak politics? Do the Sharifs and the judiciary consider the people of Pakistan fool? People have already started putting up big question marks on the judiciary. Now we believe Musharraf was correct in his decisions.

anyonymous | 13 years ago | Reply good riddance!!

Azad | 13 years ago | Reply PPP is a minority party in Punjab and it should sit in the opposition. That's how democracy works. What is raucous about being kicked out. Sharifs should have done a long time ago. Is the PPP afraid that w/o power it will not survive in Punjab?

Aftab Kenneth Wilson | 13 years ago | Reply Why is he still on Stay Order? Their deep connection with some powerful in the judiciary are playing with the whole system.Both brothers who are still in the office due to the a/m connections have now become headache by going for lotacracy in the biggest province.

Javaid | 13 years ago | Reply Zardari's disappointment is important to me less than one paisa. This corrupy and incompetent is the disappointmentof Pakistan infact who came through NRO becase he had criminal and Money landering and treasury looting cases against him. Criminal came through NRO to presidency: this is the real disappointment for the Nation. We don't care about his disappointments. Him and Nawaz both doing Nura Kushti... and making fun of the whole nation.

Muhammad Fahed | 13 years ago | Reply I am sadden by the politics of both Mian Saab and Zardari Saab. Both involved in Politics of Horse Trading which is Unconstitutional, Immoral and Undemocratic and paving way for another coup with their attitudes. http://bluntkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/02/dont-give-horse-bad-name.html

Aamer Khawaja | 13 years ago | Reply PPP is only concernd about loosing its ministers and not abt horse trading. If they were concernd then Ms. Firdaus Awan would still have been in Q league. Neither is the ppp interested in improving its lot of corrupt ministers.

Billoo Bhaya | 13 years ago | Reply PPP has been conducting Pakistan Khappay politics for 3 years to its detriment. Ms. Faruqui show me one leading economic indicator in which Pakistan has excelled.

abdullah | 13 years ago | Reply well ppp itself is not so clean...they all have done this

Commoner | 13 years ago | Reply Perhaps Miss Farooqi needs to be reminded of the cases she had against herself and those against her party leaders which were wiped clean off the nation's very short memory. Same goes for Messrs Sharif and Sharif.

atif | 13 years ago | Reply Bravo Sharif brothers. Good job. Hats off to Mr. Nawaz sharif for such a good decision.

Idris | 13 years ago | Reply Who she is to decide that PML - N made the right or wrong decision? As far as the people of Pakistan are happy with the decision, that decision stands right only and not otherwise

saleem | 13 years ago | Reply The Nation thanks Shareefs (not so shareefs) for going back to the Changa Manga politics!

Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Bravo Sharif brothers! What a duo you make! Do you remember in what state you left the country in when you were kicked out of power in 1999? Pakistan had to beg Kuwait to pay the debts that had come due because the country was bankrupt! National debt soared and he cut taxes for the rich, because they were in real dire straits!

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