Govt team for LFO talks to be reshaped: •Musharraf may leave army by Dec 2004
By Ahmed Hassan
ISLAMABAD, July 10: The government has decided to reconstitute its team which will restart negotiations with the opposition on the LFO as soon as PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain returns home from abroad.
To be headed by the PML-Q chief, the government team will now comprise National Alliance parliamentary leader Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, PPP Patriots’ chief Rao Sikandar Iqbal and PPP (Sherpao) president Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.
Sources close to the government said the fresh round would resume from the point at which the talks between the MMA and the president’s team had broken off, following which the prime minister had set up an 11-member government-opposition team to resolve the crisis.
The meeting between the MMA and the president’s team had agreed to give the president two years to give up his uniform.
Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali will himself supervise the progress of fresh negotiations and give input to the government team which will, in fact, represent the president at the talks, sources said.
Chaudhry Shujaat, who was scheduled to return home on Thursday, is now being expected early next week.
Sources claimed that the president at his two meetings with the prime minister during the last four days had given his consent as to what extent he could show flexibility on most contentious issues of the LFO. The upcoming round of talks would be final and decisive, the sources said.
According to them, if both sides reach an understanding then a composite constitutional package to settle the issues of 58(2)b, National Security Council, president’s discretionary powers and the Sixth Schedule, which deals with provincial powers, will be prepared.
The issue of president’s relinquishing the army post will also be resolved by deciding on a time-frame which will not go beyond December 2004, but the final date will not be made public.
When the National Assembly will pass the amendment bill by two-thirds majority it will be presumed that the issue of president’s status has also been settled and he will not be required to be re-elected by parliament.
Asked about the logic behind abandoning the recommendations of the 11-member committee, the sources said it was meant to accelerate the process of reconciliation and take it to an early conclusion.
Before the start of negotiations, which are likely to be held between the government and the MMA representatives, Prime Minister Jamali is expected to meet some leaders of the MMA and those of other parties.
Talking to Dawn, MMA deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch said authorities had contacted the Majlis leaders but there were no invitation for formal talks.
He said the MMA expected that reason would prevail this time and the government would come up with viable suggestions to break the deadlock.
The sources said that the possibility of a meeting between the MMA leadership and Gen Musharraf before the final round of talks was also under consideration at the top level.
