ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held an important meeting here on Thursday on the 10-point agenda of the PML-N and agreed to keep the ongoing political atmosphere ‘peaceful’ by continuing the policy of reconciliation.
The sources said it was settled in the meeting that the PPP would not be the first to strain political relations with the N-League or to split with the Punjab government.
According to political observers, the president-PM meeting had a special importance as prior to it the president held a consultative meeting with other PPP leaders, focusing on relations with the PML-N in future.
Earlier, the prime minister held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the PM House. Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar and Senator Ishaq Dar were also present. The sources said the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister agreed in principle that the political strategy for solving problems through dialogue should be continued instead of confrontation. Both the leaders will discuss this strategy with their parties today (Friday).
Prime Minister Gilani conveyed a message to the PML-N that the PPP government would continue to follow the reconciliation policy even at all odds. The official announcement from the Prime Minister’s House after the meeting stated that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. After the meeting with Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Gilani rushed to the Presidency and held a meeting with President Zardari, updating him on the meeting.
In his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Gilani said the supreme national interests demanded sagacity as well as continuation of engagements through dialogue among all political forces of the country to provide a solid base for strengthening the democratic institutions. He said the government had always welcomed suggestions from all quarters to address the national issues. The progress on the ongoing dialogue on the 10-point agenda was also reviewed in the meeting.
Sources said the premier told the PML-N team that the government intended to bring the accountability law in the current session of the National Assembly as the draft had also been sent to the coalition partners of the government.
Nowadays, tension between the two big political parties with regard to the 10-point agenda on improving the country’s financial condition is mounting. The PML-N had given 45 days to the federal government to implement this 10-point agenda but then it also gave the PPP-led government a further 48 hours and this deadline will end today (Friday).
The N-League made it clear to the PPP leadership in the Punjab that it could not support the party in the province once the deadline expired. On the other hand, the PPP has also made it clear that the Charter of Democracy (CoD), which was inked four years ago, should not be buried and its respect and implementation should be kept in mind.
Earlier, President Asif Zardari’s top political aides, including Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Mian Raza Rabbani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira, held a consultative meeting at the Presidency. The meeting discussed different options in case the PML-N ousted the PPP from the Punjab cabinet.
Sources said the president, during the meeting, reiterated his stance on continuation of the reconciliation policy. They said the meeting endorsed the core committee’s decision that the PPP would not come out of the Punjab cabinet unless it was thrown out by the PML-N itself. Sources further said that during the meeting, President Zardari gave directions for avoiding aggressive statements against the PML-N top leadership.
They said Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and presented the report of negotiations with the PML-N team on the 10-point agenda. Hafeez Shaikh is leading the PPP team in talks with the PML-N. The sources said that the recent statements of Shah Mahmood Qureshi were also discussed in the consultative meeting.
The sources said it was settled in the meeting that the PPP would not be the first to strain political relations with the N-League or to split with the Punjab government.
According to political observers, the president-PM meeting had a special importance as prior to it the president held a consultative meeting with other PPP leaders, focusing on relations with the PML-N in future.
Earlier, the prime minister held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the PM House. Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar and Senator Ishaq Dar were also present. The sources said the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister agreed in principle that the political strategy for solving problems through dialogue should be continued instead of confrontation. Both the leaders will discuss this strategy with their parties today (Friday).
Prime Minister Gilani conveyed a message to the PML-N that the PPP government would continue to follow the reconciliation policy even at all odds. The official announcement from the Prime Minister’s House after the meeting stated that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. After the meeting with Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Gilani rushed to the Presidency and held a meeting with President Zardari, updating him on the meeting.
In his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Gilani said the supreme national interests demanded sagacity as well as continuation of engagements through dialogue among all political forces of the country to provide a solid base for strengthening the democratic institutions. He said the government had always welcomed suggestions from all quarters to address the national issues. The progress on the ongoing dialogue on the 10-point agenda was also reviewed in the meeting.
Sources said the premier told the PML-N team that the government intended to bring the accountability law in the current session of the National Assembly as the draft had also been sent to the coalition partners of the government.
Nowadays, tension between the two big political parties with regard to the 10-point agenda on improving the country’s financial condition is mounting. The PML-N had given 45 days to the federal government to implement this 10-point agenda but then it also gave the PPP-led government a further 48 hours and this deadline will end today (Friday).
The N-League made it clear to the PPP leadership in the Punjab that it could not support the party in the province once the deadline expired. On the other hand, the PPP has also made it clear that the Charter of Democracy (CoD), which was inked four years ago, should not be buried and its respect and implementation should be kept in mind.
Earlier, President Asif Zardari’s top political aides, including Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Mian Raza Rabbani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira, held a consultative meeting at the Presidency. The meeting discussed different options in case the PML-N ousted the PPP from the Punjab cabinet.
Sources said the president, during the meeting, reiterated his stance on continuation of the reconciliation policy. They said the meeting endorsed the core committee’s decision that the PPP would not come out of the Punjab cabinet unless it was thrown out by the PML-N itself. Sources further said that during the meeting, President Zardari gave directions for avoiding aggressive statements against the PML-N top leadership.
They said Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also held a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and presented the report of negotiations with the PML-N team on the 10-point agenda. Hafeez Shaikh is leading the PPP team in talks with the PML-N. The sources said that the recent statements of Shah Mahmood Qureshi were also discussed in the consultative meeting.
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