Gilani’s APC bid finds cautious approval

Commenting on his talks with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao chief Aftab Sherpao stressed on Sunday the importance of a long-term roadmap to deal with such situations in future said the prime minister should have contacted political leaders much sooner, especially after the May 2 US raid that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
He said, however, that his party would participate in the prime minister’s proposed all-parties conference (APC). When asked how hopeful he was the APC would help resolve the issues, Sherpao said: “A number of meetings and briefings were held previously but the issue is that the government does not act upon the standpoint that emerges after the consensus. If the government treats the APC in a similar manner, there is no need for it.”
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Deputy Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said he could not decide if his party would participate in the APC, but parliament must be taken into confidence, otherwise the APC would remain a futile exercise. “If there is any danger or threat, both Pakistan Army and the civil government must take parliament into confidence. We realise that Pakistan is facing challenges as no corrective measures were taken by the government immediately after the May 2 incident, and had such steps been taken the situation today would have been very different,” Iqbal said.
The PML-N has also called an important meeting on Tuesday to take stock of the prime minister’s APC proposal. A senior PML-N leader said that the meeting would discuss a detailed agenda for the APC in light of Pak-US tensions. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA Waseem Akhtar said his party chief Altaf Hussain had assured Prime Minister Gilani of his full cooperation in this critical situation. Welcoming the APC, Akhtar said the country needed bold and big decisions and for that to happen, all political and religious parties should support the government.
Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Zahid Khan said that all political parties must develop a consensus in the given situation and devise a strategy so that Pakistani soil could not be used by terrorists. PML-Quaid Senator Javed Asharf Qazi said the US wanted to keep Pakistan constantly under pressure for certain objectives. He also questioned why the US did not take action against the Haqqani network, which was also present in Afghanistan.
Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said ground or air aggression against Pakistan by the US would endanger world peace. He said Prime Minister Gilani’s overtures to political parties were a good omen. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) senior leader Liaqat Baloch said the prime minister had called JI chief Munawar Hassan on the phone about the issue but a decision to attend could not taken until the party reviewed and analysed the details of the APC agenda.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Information Secretary Umer Sarfraz Cheema said the government had a stark difference between its words and actions, so before taking any decision to participate in the APC the party would gauge its level of seriousness and its agenda. All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said the APC would be an exercise in futility as such “dramas” had been done already. He demanded the restoration of the National Security Council to deal with such issues.