Constitutional package sent to president: Talks resume tomorrow
By Ahmed Hassan
ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The proposed draft constitutional package prepared by senior legal adviser to prime minister Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada has been sent to President Gen Pervez Musharraf for final approval before being handed over to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).
MMA’s vice-president Qazi Hussain Ahmed was contacted by president’s top aide and secretary of the proposed National Security Council, Tariq Aziz, on Monday who informed him that the constitutional package had been finalized, and was now with the president for his perusal.
He was told that the president was likely to return the draft on Tuesday which will then be provided to the MMA on its demand.
Earlier, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, in his telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, had demanded copies of the draft so that the alliance leadership could discuss it among themselves before holding talks with the government.
However, he was told by the government on Sunday that the draft could not be handed over to the MMA for fear its details will get leaked.
Meanwhile, PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had a meeting with Prime Minister Jamali on Monday and discussed with him issues relating to the upcoming government-opposition talks.
It was also reliably learnt that Prime Minister Jamali, Chaudhry Shujaat, Farooq Leghari and, possibly, Hamid Nasir Chattha were scheduled to meet President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday to have a final discussion on the proposed constitutional package.
The talks on the package and the president’s army uniform are likely to be held on Wednesday, according to sources in the MMA.
Pakistan Muslim League-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain contacted the MMA leaders Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Monday and informed them that the second round could be held “any time”, the sources said.
“The government has called all the heads of component parties of the MMA to the federal capital, and is likely to inform them about the date and time of the meeting,” MMA chief Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani said.
Talking to Dawn, Maulana Noorani said Chaudhry Shujaat talked to him on Monday and informed him that the proposed draft constitutional package was ready for discussion and finalization by the government-opposition party heads.
Maulana Noorani said the heads of MMA component parties will first meet to discuss and chalk out their strategy before going into the second round of talks with the government.
When asked about Chaudhry Shujaat’s insistence in his news conference on Sunday that the president’s army uniform was a settled issue, and that there should be no more discussion on it, the Maulana said the PML-Q chief, during his telephonic conversation “with me” denied having said any such thing.
The MMA chief, however, held that Mr Shujaat’s statement was to reassure his ‘benefactors’ that he “continues to be loyal to them.”
Earlier, MMA’s deputy secretary-general Liaqat Baloch told Dawn that the signals emanating from the government side in telephonic contacts on Monday point to the possibility of party heads meeting being held on Wednesday.
He said the government side remained in constant touch with the alliance leadership
