ISLAMABAD – With the IMF refusing to bail Pakistan out of its economic crisis until the agreed reforms are implemented and the Raymond Davis issue jeopardising Pak-US diplomatic relations is resolved, President Asif Zardari on Tuesday announced holding a “roundtable conference” with a national agenda to steer the country out of the crises.
“The agenda of the conference has not been set as it will be decided with a consensus after consultation with all political parties,” president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Pakistan Today. However, a source in the Presidency said apparently the most critical issues at the time were the economic situation and the Raymond Davis issue.
“The economic issue involves the revenue and power sectors reform with the restructuring of bleeding state-owned enterprises,” the source said. An official statement issued by the Presidency said political parties represented in parliament would be contacted and consulted for the roundtable conference, clearly suggesting that the parties with no representation in parliament would not be invited.
DISAPPOINTMENT – Disappointed with the government’s dilly-dallying to implement its 10-point agenda and keeping it engaged in a dialogue to buy time, the PML-N on Tuesday decided to link its participation in the proposed roundtable conference to the implementation of the agenda. A source told Pakistan Today the decision was taken in a PML-N consultative meeting chaired by Nawaz Sharif.
“Party leaders decided that when President Zardari contacts the PML-N, its leadership would ask him about the progress on the implementation of its 10-point agenda made so far,” said the source. The source said, “The PML-N chief and other party bigwigs were of the opinion that if the government cannot implement a short-term agenda already presented by the party, how will it implement the PML-N’s other suggestions?”
Until the filing of this report, the president had contacted PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat, Mushahid Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and Farooq Sattar, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, PML-F chief Pir Pagaro and PPP-S President Aftab Sherpao.
Before initiating contacts with the political leaders, the president held a detailed meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, in which the two discussed the agenda for the roundtable conference, with emphasis on the economic situation and the Raymond Davis issue.
PML-Q Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha said Shujaat told the president that all political parties should sit together not to form a national government but only to devise a strategy to steer the country out of the difficult situation. However, PML-Q’s Faisal Saleh Hayat called the initiative a “useless activity aimed at diverting media’s attention from the real issue of corruption”.
The MQM chief welcomed Zardari’s initiative, saying the conference would be helpful in devising a unanimous strategy to deal with economic and other challenges. ANP’s Haji Adeel welcomed the step, saying, “Our party will take a decision on this issue… my personal view is that dialogue is the way forward.”
