- PPP’s Asif Zardari assures Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that his party will stand by govt in case of any threat to democracy
- PM says reservations of Opp parties on PPO will be removed
- Tells Zardari there is no major issue between army and govt
- Zardari asks Nawaz not to let any minister resign over govt-military tension
With Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) getting a bit bitter for the opposition parties to swallow, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari sat together over lunch on Wednesday and discussed how the ordinance could be gulped down with a pinch of salt.
The two leaders met at a crucial point in time when the PPP-dominated Senate is all set to oppose the passage of the controversial bill to give increased powers to law enforcement and security agencies for “curbing terrorism”.
An official statement said that both the leaders reviewed the political situation in the country and issues regarding various legislations including PPO and amendments in Anti-Terrorism Act, while the future legislative agenda was also discussed.
Brimming with the commitment to keep the derailing democracy on the tracks, the premier assured the PPP leaders that all the parties will be consulted on PPO, which has already been passed amid protests in the National Assembly.
Reciprocating the prime minister’s gestures, Zardari assured Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of his party’s strong resolve to stand by the democratically-elected government against any threat to the democratic process.
However, sources told Pakistan Today that Zardari also expressed his party’s concerns over PPO. Raza Rabbani apprised the prime minister of his party’s concerns over the bill which he said was a draconian law which would only strengthen the grip of the military establishment.
The prime minister directed Zahid Hamid to give a detailed briefing to the opposition parties over the bill and said that the opposition’s concerns should be addressed and all lacunae should be removed, sources added.
“Both the political leaders agreed in principal that both the parties would unite all political forces to block any adventurism in future so as to strengthen the parliamentary sovereignty,” sources said.
According to the official press statement, both the leaders showed strong resolve to work for the prosperity and economic development of Pakistan.
“They expressed their commitment to respect and to strengthen all institutions in order to address the many challenges faced by Pakistan including those of security, health, education and poverty for a better future,” the statement said.
ON CIVIL-MILITARY TENSION:
The meeting between Zardari and Nawaz took place amid rising tensions between the civilian government and the army leadership on some major issues which include public criticism by PML-N ministers against the armed forces over the trial of former army chief Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, the mechanism adopted in the dialogue process and the release of Taliban inmates.
The surprise meeting which took place soon after the return of the premier from his China visit is being dubbed by political observers as a move to send a “message of political unity and strength” to the General Headquarters (GHQ).
Sources privy to the details of meeting told Pakistan Today that Zardari also gave his word for his party’s unconditional support to the government regarding civil-military relations. However, Nawaz Sharif told the visitors that there was no major dispute between the government and the army leadership and all irritants would be resolved amicably.
Interestingly, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was conspicuously absent from the meeting and the briefing on dialogue with the Taliban was given by Sharif trusted bureaucrat Fawad Hassan Fawad even though Nisar is supervising the talks process.
Sources told Pakistan Today that Sharif had deliberately not invited Nisar to the meeting because of his bitter relations with Raza Rabbani and Khurshid Shah.
Sources also said that Zardari had advised Sharif not to let any of his ministers resign in wake of tension with the army, saying this would show the government’s weakness. “The advice was in reference to demands by various quarters for the resignation of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for making controversial remarks against the army. Sharif and Zardari also had a one-on-one meeting over the issue,” said the sources.
MORE THAN JUST A MEETING:
When contacted, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar, who is also Zardari’s spokesman, said that the political significance of the meeting was much more than the discussion which took place during the meeting.
“The timing and the political environment during which the meeting took place speaks about the significance of the meeting. The meeting was held in an environment when the writ of the democratically-elected government is being threatened. Both the leaders agreed in principle that all political forces should stand united against undemocratic forces. This is big news for the country and its people,” he said.
Moreover, he said that this meeting should not be taken as a weakness of the PPP leadership. “Rather, it should be regarded as a prudent step to protect the democratic government. There is no case against any PPP leader or Mr Zardari. If he has visited the prime minister in such an environment, he has demonstrated his resolve to support the democratic government against any force threatening the democratic process.”
PM NEEDS TO BE VIGILANT:
Noted defence analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi termed the meeting a “good political move” by the prime minister as both the parties have sent a message of strength to the khakis.
However, he said that the premier needed to be aware of the fact that this could be a ploy by the PPP leadership to aggravate the civil-military tensions.
Asked if the prime minister had achieved his objective by sending a message to the GHQ, Rizvi said that it would be a mistake by the premier to understand that he could build pressure on the army chief by sending such signals.
“If the army moves in, PPP will be the first party to withdraw its support from the PML-N government. Nawaz would be badly mistaken if he thinks that Zardari would stand by him against the army,” he warned.