Zardari set to have the last laugh as opposition in tatters

As the gulf between major opposition parties widens, President Asif Ali Zardari is all set to have the last laugh over the caretaker setup.

The stand-off between JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Opposition Leader Nisar Ali Khan has not been resolved so far and both sides have refused to budge from their stated positions over the nomination of Justice (r) Shakirullah Jan for the slot of caretaker prime minister, while another opposition party – the MQM – seems neither in the government’s camp nor is it being liked by the opposition.

With the standoff over each other’s nominees for the slot of caretaker prime minister and chief ministers persisting, the coalition partners of the PPP and the main opposition outfit, the PML-N, are set to have final sittings today to give diplomacy another chance, as the leadership of both parties is ready to consider new nominations for the top slot, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.

Background interactions with well-placed sources in both the PPP and the PML-N have revealed that though there were differences between the leadership of both the parties, they had an agreement on resolving the matter bilaterally through mutual dialogue as the last day for mutual consultation was Tuesday.

“Yes, there is a stalemate for the time being, but both sides have agreed that they would either resolve the matter bilaterally and the matter would not be passed on to the Election Commission of Pakistan due to the independence exhibited by the election watchdog,” a source in the PPP revealed.

On the other hand, a PML-N leader said his party’s leadership would have an informal sitting tonight in Lahore to explore the possibilities of tabling new nominations for the caretaker PM and the matter would be finalised in another follow-up meeting to be held on Tuesday morning.

“Nisar is likely to contact Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf when the consultation process is over on Tuesday. There is a possibility that both the leaders agree on a new name. However, in the other case, Nisar would announce the names of four members of the parliamentary committee from the opposition. All four members have been short-listed from the PML-N and include three members of the National Assembly and a senator,” the source added.

The PPP camp, however, seems better placed as it enjoys covert support from two opposition parties – the JUI-F and the MQM.

“Other than names of Mian Raza Rabbani, Asma Jahangir, DR Ishrat Hussain and others, we have also conveyed to the PML-N leadership that we are ready to even appoint its leader Senator Ishaq Dar as the caretaker prime minister. In response, we expect the PML-N to agree to appoint PPP’s nominee as the caretaker chief minister in Punjab,” the PPP leader added.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Khurshid Shah told reporters that in case the issue of caretaker prime minister’s nomination was not resolved by Tuesday, the parliamentary committee would make its decision on the matter.

Shah, however, dismissed the impression of a deadlock on the issue, saying the parliamentary committee had five names before it for the office of the caretaker PM – three of them proposed by the outgoing government and two by the opposition.

He said in case the parliamentary committee also failed to evolve consensus, the matter would ultimately end up with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and in this way, the incumbent prime minister would get a total of eight days in the office following the dissolution of the National Assembly.

Shah expressed his inability to comment on the name of Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid as a nominee for the interim PM’s slot, but said he would express whatever reservations he had in case the matter was referred to the parliamentary committee.