ISLAMABAD – Two successive attempts made by the ruling PPP on Saturday failed to woo the PML-N leader to adopt a soft stance during President Asif Ali Zardari’s address to the joint session of parliament due on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani telephoned Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan, requesting him not to boycott President Zardari’s address. A source told Pakistan Today that following the phone call, a PPP delegation, led by Minister for Inter-provincial coordination Raza Rabbani, also called on Nisar and discussed the matter with him.
The source said Nisar did not give any assurances to the PPP about whether his party would boycott the address or not, adding that Nisar told the PPP delegation that the PML-N parliamentary party would make the final decision regarding the issue. Rabbani expressed hope that no political party would repeat the politics of confrontation of the 1990s, adding that Gilani had called a meeting of the coalition parties to evolve a joint strategy regarding President Zardari’s address.
Later, Rabbani told reporters that the PPP delegation had taken Nisar into confidence over the president’s address on March 22.
