Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani held separate meetings with delegations of parliamentarians from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and FATA and discussed issues pertaining to the political situation and an in-camera briefing of the armed forces to a joint session of parliament later in the day, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.
Gilani said the government believed in the policy of reconciliation and wanted to take along all political parties on national issues. The government had been and would take all parliamentarians who were elected representatives of the people into confidence on important national matters including the Abbottabad incident. He expressed confidence that the in-camera briefing would be beneficial to all members of parliament.
According to a press release issued from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Gilani also said the government was taking all its coalition partners into confidence over the next budget and security issues. He said politics in the future would be politics of coalition, adding therefore that all political parties should develop a spirit of accommodation.
Talking to the MQM delegation, the prime minister stressed upon the need to prioritise development projects and asked the delegation to appoint a focal person who could sit with the finance minister to work out a detailed development plan for the utilisation of funds being allocated to the MQM parliamentarians. He assured them that the MQM, being part of the government, both at the federal and provincial levels, would be taken into confidence on all development projects.
He also assured the MQM that the Sindh chief minister would be asked to take care of the development projects of the coalition partner. The prime minister said the government was pursuing politics of reconciliation and intended to bolster the democratic culture in the country. The prime minister and the ANP, MQM and FATA delegations also discussed various development projects in their respective areas.
Talking to the FATA and ANP parliamentarians, the prime minister praised the role of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA in the fight against terrorism.
