Top political and military leadership held a detailed discussion late on Thursday to evolve consensus on the draft recommendations for evolving consensus on new terms of engagement with the US on the war against terrorism.
A source told Pakistan Today that the government and opposition sides agreed to review the draft recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) and the consultations on incorporation of new clauses on drone attacks, NATO supplies and other contentious issues continued until filing of this report.
The source said the government wanted to get passed the recommendations from the joint sitting of both Houses of parliament by Friday or Saturday, as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had to leave for China on Sunday. The meeting was attended by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan, Leader of Opposition in the Senate Ishaq Dar, PML-Q President Shujaat Hussain, Mushahid Hussain, JUI chief Fazlur Rehman, Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the MQM in NA Haidar Abbas Rizvi, ANP leader Afrasiab Khattak, Kalsoom Parveen, FATA Parliamentary Leader in NA Haji Munir Khan Orakzai, Senator Muzaffar Shah, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah and Raza Rabbani.
Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, ISI DG Gen Zaheerul Islam and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman were also present. The source said the government made a last ditch effort to woo back the support of the opposition parties who were resisting the government’s bid for evolving a consensus, as they wanted not to become a party to the reopening of NATO supplies to avoid public criticism.
The source said the government had delayed holding the joint session on Thursday to make a last effort to convince the leadership of opposition parties, including the PML-N and the JUI-F. “During the meeting, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani briefed the political leadership on his recent meetings with the US and NATO army chiefs and said he had flatly told his counterparts that final decisions on new terms of engagement would be taken by parliament itself and not by the army or the government,” the source said.
Addressing the participants, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said parliament will decide the matter of new terms of engagement with the US, NATO and ISAF, in a respectful manner, as the whole world was waiting for this decision. The prime minister, however, stressed that as it was a matter of national importance and pertains to national security, the decision should be taken with consensus. “The role of parliamentary leaders is very important, as your vision will determine the future line of action,” he said. “It is not a matter of US alone, but of 48 countries,” Gilani said. He said this parliamentary process and the recommendations of the parliamentary committee were being appreciated and viewed with great respect by the whole world.
