Zardari calls Raja Riaz, urges positive role in Punjab.

ISLAMABAD: Co-Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari in a telephone call on Saturday directed PPP leader Raja Riaz to play a positive role in the Punjab province so that democracy was not derailed,

The phone call came as Pakistan’s most famous political marriage of convenience ended in a divorce on Friday as Nawaz Sharif signalled the ouster of the PPP from the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s Punjab government and both sides contradicted each other over the implementation of a 10-point agenda, raising fears of future tensions.

Mr Sharif announced “parting of ways” with the PPP at a news conference in Islamabad because of what he called unsatisfactory performance of the PPP-led federal coalition government in implementing his party’s economic-cum-political agenda during a 45-day deadline that ended on Wednesday.

As a consequence, he said, the PML-N’s Punjab chief minister and his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, would dissolve his cabinet, which includes several PPP ministers, and form a new one, possibly with the breakaway “unification bloc” of the opposition PML-Q, which will give him the majority in the 371-seat provincial assembly. This, he said, would happen within two days, possibly on Saturday.

Riaz has however stated that the PML-N leadership “could not accuse PPP ministers in Punjab of any wrongdoing”.

Moreover, Riaz said he had returned the bullet-proof vehicle given to him by the Punjab government and had also directed PPP ministers in Punjab to return all government vehicles.

Riaz further stated that PPP ministers would not go to their offices from Saturday.

Last-ditch efforts to save Punjab coalition, Gilani, Shahbaz discuss 10-point agenda.

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.

President Zardari calls on Emperor of Japan.

TOKYO: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday called on the Emperor of Japan, Akihito at his palace and discussed bilateral relations and Pakistan's fight against terrorism and militancy.

The Emperor recalled his visit to Pakistan in early 60s as Crown Prince and said that he fondly remembered that visit. The president felicitated the Emperor's son and Crown Prince Naruhito on his birthday (today) and invited him to visit Pakistan.

Earlier, the Emperor came out of his palace and warmly received the President.

This was President Zardari's second meeting with the Emperor Akihito. In April, 2009, President Asif Ali Zardari met him when he visited Japan leading Pakistan delegation at the Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting.

PM seeks time for executing PML-N agenda.

ISLAMABAD / BAHAWALPUR: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday that the implementation of  Pakistan Muslim League-N’s 10-point reforms agenda would take time.

Talking to journalists in Bahawalpur, he explained that proposals calling for restructuring would take more time to implement.

Thursday is the last day of a 45-day period set by the PML-N for the government to implement the agenda.

The prime minister said he had asked the government’s team negotiating with a PML-N committee to take people into confidence on the issue and
keep him informed of the progress made.

The parliamentary group of the Pakistan People’s Party and its coalition partners in the National Assembly also unanimously endorsed the view of the government that all the points of the agenda were doable, but the implementation of those pertaining to restructuring of public sector
organisations should not be expected within 45 days.

According to sources, the parliamentary group was informed that the government had sincerely tried to implement the reforms, but found the
time limit put by the PML-N ‘unrealistic’, at least as far as the restructuring of government-run organisations was concerned.

After presiding over the meeting, the prime minister gave a statement in the National Assembly on the reforms and the Raymond Davis issue.

“Six of the 10 points of PML-N’s agenda have been implemented so far, while the remaining four pertain to the restructuring of organisations which cannot be done in a brief period of 45 days.”

The meeting was attended by MNAs belonging to the PPP, ANP, MQM, Fata and PML-F.

The prime minister said the government was ready to implement the entire agenda, but it should not be expected to do miracles.

Information Minister Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan told reporters that Law Minister Babar Awan, a member of the five-member government team negotiating with the PML-N, briefed the parliamentary group about the talks held so far.

He said the government was striving to maintain an atmosphere of reconciliation among the political forces and was attending not only to the PML-N agenda but also to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s concerns.

The law minister said there was no deadlock between the PPP and PML-N, but there was a difference of opinion on the issue of deadline for implementing the agenda.

“There is no discord between Prime Minister Gilani and Mian Nawaz Sharif,” he said.

The information minister said another meeting of the parliamentary group would be held on Wednesday.

HORSE TRADING: Addressing a news conference along with Punjab’s Senior Minister Raja Riaz, Law Minister Babar Awan accused the PML-N of making a mockery of the Charter of Democracy by accepting turncoats into its fold.

He said the ‘rulers of Lahore’ wanted to bury the charter and had initiated horse trading in Punjab.

Mr Awan said the PML-N wanted to discard PPP’s mandate in Punjab and was poised to run the government with the help of turncoats (the Unification Bloc of the PML-Q) who, he added, were only loyal to money.

About the agenda presented by the PML-N to the federal government, he said there was no room for a ‘deadline’ in politics and that the PPP did not believe in politics of deadlines, neither would it bow to intimidation.

He warned that the attitude of PML-N’s leaders was posing a threat to the federation.

“The Punjab chief minister has said that Feb 22 will be the final day for talks with the PPP. It means that the PML-N alone will topple the governments in the rest of the provinces. The smaller provinces have been hurt by the statement of Shahbaz Sharif,” he said.