LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, April 18: Parties in the joint opposition in the National Assembly and the Senate would take a collective decision on whether or not to hold talks with the government on the LFO in case a “formal” invitation was extended.
This was decided at a meeting of PPP leaders Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Syed Khursheed Shah, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Aitzaz Ahsan and others with ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in Lahore on Friday.
The PPP leaders told the Nawabzada that after the opposition MNAs made it impossible for the government to continue the NA session on Friday, PML(Q) leader Sardar Nasrullah Dreshak came with an “informal” invitation for talks with PPP leaders Amin Faheem, Khursheed Shah and Naveed Qamar and PML(N) leaders Javed Hashmi and Chaudhry Nisar.
However, the government emissary was told that this was not the right way to extend an invitation and the government should come with a formal invitation if it was serious in holding a dialogue and resolving differences. Minutes later, Labour Minister Abdus Sattar Lalika approached the same leaders with the same objective — and received the same response.
“Official dialogue with the government will be held by all parties in the joint opposition,” Amin Faheem said while answering a question if the MMA could hold separate talks with the ruling party.
PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said at a news conference in Islamabad that the government had extended separate invitations to opposition parties which was an attempt to drive a wedge between them. He said the opposition parties had rejected the gesture and sought a joint invitation if the prime minister was serious in holding talks to resolve the deadlock on the LFO.
A reporter asked Makhdoom Amin Faheem to explain how, while seeking a joint invitation for talks, would the two opposition alliances synchronize their positions on Gen Musharraf’s eligibility to president.
Amin Faheem and the Nawabzada simultaneously replied that the ARD and the MMA would evolve consensus on the issue. The ARD, it may be recalled, says that Gen Musharraf should quit as COAS and then wait for two years before offering himself as a candidate for the office of the president.
The MMA, on the other hand, says it will be willing to extend its support to Gen Musharraf to get elected as president if he steps down as army chief.
Amin Faheem reiterated that the ARD would not accept the LFO as a part of the Constitution unless the government got it approved from parliament.
The parliamentary group of the ARD would be meeting in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the situation and decide its future course of action, Makhdoom said.
In response to a question, Amin Faheem held the government responsible for the prevailing deadlock and said it alone would be blamed for any adverse effect on the democratic system.
He said the opposition parties would not like the assemblies to be dissolved or martial law reimposed. “We want the democratic system to continue.”
Raza Rabbani said in Islamabad the government had been continuously violating the Constitution since the holding of general elections. The first session of the National Assembly was summoned after 35 days of elections and parliament remained incomplete for several months as the Senate elections were delayed.
A joint session of parliament was imperative to start parliamentary year but this constitutional requirement had not been met 190 days after the elections.
Speaking on the occasion, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, Chairman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), said all opposition parties had identical views on the LFO and all previous meetings of the MMA with the government had taken place with the consent of other opposition parties.
Maulana Noorani said the joint opposition would not allow an unelected and unconstitutional president to address the joint session of parliament. Naib Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami, Prof Ghafoor said the current border situation required that the country should have a full-time army chief.
