President’s roundtable mere rhetoric

ISLAMABAD – The roundtable conference announced by President Asif Ali Zardari to reach political consensus on a national strategy on all issues turned out to be mere rhetoric that has brought further disgrace to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the presidency and the government as no follow-up steps have been taken to convince the leaders of political parties to attend the moot.
The president had floated the idea on February 8 and also called political leaders to persuade them to attend the moot, but nothing has been done since in this regard by the presidency or the PPP committee tasked by the president himself to set up the conference. Though most of the political parties seemingly agreed to attend the moot, no serious effort was made to convene the meeting.
A source told Pakistan Today that the presidency was interested in taking all political parties on broad vis-a-vis the country’s crumbling economic situation and wanted political support for tough decisions by the government. “However, the idea was dropped after the unexpected magnitude of remittances received and the surge in exports, which provided immediate relief for the government,” the source added.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Pakistan Today that the idea had not been trashed and a committee, comprising Law Minister Babar Awan, Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Raza Rabbani, former Water and Power minister Raja Parvaiz Asharf and others, was tasked to consult the political leadership. Babar said only the committee members could provide an update on the situation. “I can only confirm that no specific date has been fixed for the roundtable,” he said.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Pervaiz Rashid told Pakistan Today that his party’s leadership had not been contacted about the roundtable proposal and a response would be given once it was contacted. A PML-Quaid spokesman, however, termed the idea positive and said that it was originally put forth by his PML-Q President Chauhdry Shujaat Hussain.
“No one has contacted my party leadership yet about the roundtable moot. However, since my leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had originally floated this idea, we will welcome any such moot,” he said. Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl spokesmen also said their parties were not contacted by the government either.
Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Mohammad Adeel also said that the party was not contacted by any government or PPP official since the president’s talk with party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan.