Stalling devolution: Raza Rabbani’s resignation accepted

ISLAMABAD:

President Asif Ali Zardari accepted the resignation of Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, who filed it from his office as federal minister for inter-provincial coordination.

The President, however, directed him to continue in office until the ongoing session of the upper house of the Parliament concluded.

Rabbani resigned from his portfolio in protest against the compromises made on some points of the 18th Amendment by the leadership of his party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), in their efforts to make Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) a coalition partner, sources told The Express Tribune.

Rabbani presented his resignation in a one-on-one meeting with President Zardari at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, shortly after 14 PML-Q ministers took oath, sources added.

Rabbani also shared his concern regarding the political compromise on constitutional matters with the president, sources said, adding that the unrest among some top PPP stalwarts also came under discussion.

The President conceded that some PPP members felt uncomfortable working with the new ally, the PML-Q, against whom the party had struggled during the regime of Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf.

Rabbani told the president that this would send a negative signal to party workers who held the PML-Q responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Despite numerous attempts, Rabbani could not be approached for comment till the filing of this report.

Balochistan demands rejection of Rabbani’s resignation

The Balochistan Citizen Committee for Provincial Autonomy, an umbrella organisation comprising over 350 community-level organizations from across Balochistan, called for rejection of Senator Rabbani’s resignation.

Speaking on behalf of the people of Balochistan, the organisation demanded that the provisions of the 18th Amendment be implemented under the leadership of Senator Rabbani, in a press release issued by the organisation.

“Through this resolution we also strongly demand that Senator Mian Raza Rabbani should be allowed to work without any pressure on the implementation process. If he resigns due to lack of cooperation from various institutions and pressures from different factions, his resignation should not be accepted,” said the press release.

Vouching for the head of the 18th Amendment implementation commission, the press release said “the people of smaller federating units respect him for his efforts and trust him because of his sincerity and concern for the rights of the provinces.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2011.