November 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 6, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Negotiations between the military government and People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPP) are going on and matters are near to settlement, said Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary, President of AJKPP here on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons at an Iftar dinner hosted by the newly-elected PPP member of National Assembly from Islamabad Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, the former AJK premier said that high level contacts were going on between government and the PPP. “I also met high-ups and am quit confident that the crest will settle and the government very soon will allow Benazir Bhutto to come back”, he added.

Mr Chaudhry dispelled the impression that there was any political crisis in the country and said, “there is no political crisis and some people are creating confusion in this regard”.

He said political parties and different alliances were busy in parleys to make a strong coalition government at the Centre.

As a result of hung parliament and lack of clear majority to any one party there are problems in formation of government, Sultan Mehmood said. He added that very soon a government of national consensus will be put in place.

Amin Fahim, he said, was the only person who could steer the nation out of the present situation.

Responding to a question regarding the changes in AJK after changes in Islamabad, he said “AJK is not a province of Pakistan; we have our own president, prime minister, constitution, supreme court, flag and national anthem; there is a strong democratic and parliamentary system of government in the AJK. So there is no possibility of changes in the AJK setup”.

There are possibilities of changes in the government, which is a constitutional matter, he said.

To another question, about the recent row between AJK president and prime minister, he said, “it is their own issue and there is no need to comment on it”. The powers of president and prime minister are clearly defined in the constitution of AJK and both sides should respect there offices”, he remarked.

He said during the PPP government in AJK there was no such tussle between president and the prime minister and I think this should not happen as it will have negative impact on the liberation movement.

Criticizing the role of AJK government towards the Kashmir liberation movement, he said it had failed to discharge its obligations towards the ongoing freedom struggle.

The AJK, he said, was base camp of liberation movement and there should be a government, which could highlight the Kashmir issue effectively on national and international forums and play decisive role for the success of the movement.