Zardari hits upon roundtable idea
Proposal invokes divergent reactions, from outright rejection to caution.
ISLAMABAD:
As the 45-day deadline set by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the government to meet its demands draws near, the government has come up with a novel idea to evolve a consensus among all political parties on how to steer the country out of crises.
On January 4, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had spelled out a 10-point agenda for the government to “end corruption and ensure good governance” or else its ministers would be expelled from the Punjab government.
President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to convene a roundtable conference to discuss key national issues.
Though no date has been set for the proposed conference, President Zardari has started consulting leaders of all political parties represented in parliament.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari has spoken to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asfandyar Wali, Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagara, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Dr Farooq Sattar.
Later in the night the president was also expected to talk to more political leaders, he added.
“The roundtable will try to evolve a consensus on a host of political and economic issues.”
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Zardari conceptualised the idea of convening the roundtable earlier on Monday after which the president started the consultation process.
“The two leaders discussed the forthcoming caucus of the leaders of all the political parties proposed by the president to evolve a consensus on issues of critical national importance,” Babar said after the meeting.
The two main opposition parties – PML-N and PML-Q – have voiced their reservations over the proposal, but other parties welcomed it.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, termed the idea as “a new joke and an attempt to gain more time.”
“What do they want to achieve from this conference? What issues do they want to discuss now? It is an attempt to run away from our 10-point agenda,” Khan was quoted as saying by a news channel.
PML-Q spokesperson Kamil Ali Aga confirmed that President Zardari has spoken to the Chaudhry brothers – Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi – to discuss the idea of convening the roundtable conference.
“Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told him (President Zardari) that we will respond after consulting our party members,” he added.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the PML-Q Likeminded Group, led by Saleem Saifullah, however, appreciated the idea even before the president contacted them.
“We will appreciate any opportunity that leads to collective wisdom to steer the country out of the current challenges,” Haidar Abbass Rizvi, MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, told The Express Tribune.
On his part, Saifullah said the president should have taken such an initiative long ago, but still better late than never. “The government should make the agenda public, so that all the parties can come to the conference with fully prepared, he added. The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, an estranged coalition partner of the PPP-led coalition government, also welcomed the idea.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2011.
As the 45-day deadline set by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the government to meet its demands draws near, the government has come up with a novel idea to evolve a consensus among all political parties on how to steer the country out of crises.
On January 4, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had spelled out a 10-point agenda for the government to “end corruption and ensure good governance” or else its ministers would be expelled from the Punjab government.
President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to convene a roundtable conference to discuss key national issues.
Though no date has been set for the proposed conference, President Zardari has started consulting leaders of all political parties represented in parliament.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari has spoken to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asfandyar Wali, Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagara, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Dr Farooq Sattar.
Later in the night the president was also expected to talk to more political leaders, he added.
“The roundtable will try to evolve a consensus on a host of political and economic issues.”
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Zardari conceptualised the idea of convening the roundtable earlier on Monday after which the president started the consultation process.
“The two leaders discussed the forthcoming caucus of the leaders of all the political parties proposed by the president to evolve a consensus on issues of critical national importance,” Babar said after the meeting.
The two main opposition parties – PML-N and PML-Q – have voiced their reservations over the proposal, but other parties welcomed it.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, termed the idea as “a new joke and an attempt to gain more time.”
“What do they want to achieve from this conference? What issues do they want to discuss now? It is an attempt to run away from our 10-point agenda,” Khan was quoted as saying by a news channel.
PML-Q spokesperson Kamil Ali Aga confirmed that President Zardari has spoken to the Chaudhry brothers – Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi – to discuss the idea of convening the roundtable conference.
“Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told him (President Zardari) that we will respond after consulting our party members,” he added.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the PML-Q Likeminded Group, led by Saleem Saifullah, however, appreciated the idea even before the president contacted them.
“We will appreciate any opportunity that leads to collective wisdom to steer the country out of the current challenges,” Haidar Abbass Rizvi, MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, told The Express Tribune.
On his part, Saifullah said the president should have taken such an initiative long ago, but still better late than never. “The government should make the agenda public, so that all the parties can come to the conference with fully prepared, he added. The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, an estranged coalition partner of the PPP-led coalition government, also welcomed the idea.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2011.