Forging consensus: Govt team brings ANP on board

PM’s special assistant says response was overwhelming.

ISLAMABAD:

The government’s efforts showed their first sign of success on Wednesday when the prime minister’s three-member team received a positive response from the Awami National Party to evolve consensus over national issues.

“The response from ANP was beyond our expectations,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had constituted a three-member team— Special Assistant to Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui, Planning & Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique—to contact all political groups in an effort to evolve a consensus on national issues.

“We would support the government on issues of national interest,” ANP’s Senator Zahid Khan said while appreciating the government’s initiative.

Addressing the media after the meeting with ANP leaders, Ahsan heaped scorn at the Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri, who has announced to return to Pakistan on June 23 to kick-start a movement against the government.

The PAT chief had staged a sit-in in front of the Parliament House in 2013 and later on had left for Canada. “Dr Qadri neither has sympathies with the people nor is concerned by their issues,” Ahsan Iqbal said.

He said the government had made it clear to the ANP leaders that they were “neither aspiring to cobble together a new alliance nor want to change the existing political blocs”.

“All we want is good relationship with all political leaders in the larger interest of the country. We want continuation of democratic system and want the opposition to play a positive role,” he added.

The minister said that the government was working to strengthen democracy, discourage extremism and encourage development projects in the country.

In response to a question, he said that the team would reach out to every political party, which “does not overlook the parliament and is serious in strengthening the system.”

When asked whether his team would hold a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, which had joined Dr Qadri, he said that “the Prime Minister had given us an open mandate and there were no no-go areas.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2014.