|
|
| 10 May 2004 | Monday | 19 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Cracks widen in PML-Q: Jamali's policies criticized
LAHORE, May 9: Differences in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q came out in the open on Sunday at a meeting of party parliamentarians from all over Punjab held here under the chairmanship of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
A number of speakers severely criticized Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali for his alleged failure to help party legislators to solve problems of their constituencies and also for his desire to hold the post of the party's secretary-general.
A resolution adopted at the meeting empowered Chaudhry Shujaat to take necessary steps for unifying various factions of the PML and to make appointments to various party offices.
All decisions taken by the PML-Q president in consultation with his colleagues would be acceptable to the party, said the resolution, read out by Senator Kamil Ali Agha and approved by the participants by raising their hands.
Journalists were allowed to watch the four-hour proceedings. Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, federal ministers Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Mian Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri, Humayun Akhtar Khan, Nasir Ahmed Khan and Nilofer Bakhtiar, senators S.M. Zafar, Dr Khalid Ranjha and Syed Mushahid Husain, provincial ministers Mohammad Basharat Raja and Arshad Khan Lodhi, NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz and Special Assistant Syed Muhawhid Husain were among the participants.
"We want Mr Jamali to act according to rules of the game. If he doesn't, the party may think of replacing him as the head of government," said a senior party leader after the meeting.
He said the situation had not gone out of control yet and the prime minister still had time to resolve differences with the party leadership. Many speakers were of the view that the PML-Q should not accept the preconditions set by the PML-Functional for unification and should not bother about what Pir Pagara was saying.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi expressed divergent views at the meeting. The information minister said that party's 'dirty linen' should not have been washed in the presence of the press.
He said he would not have participated in the meeting if he had the slightest idea of what would be discussed. The minister saw no harm in Prime Minister Jamali wearing the mantle of the party's secretary-general as it would be an honour for Chaudhry Shujaat if the prime minister worked as his secretary-general.
Disagreeing with suggestions put forward by various speakers that Pir Pagara should not be given much importance, Sheikh Rashid said this would not be helpful if the party was to work at the national level, beyond the boundaries of Punjab.
He said he was aware of the influence of Pir Pagara and the Sindhi leader should not be underestimated both because of the sensitivity of the province he belonged to and the overall situation in the country.
He said it was a great achievement for the PML-Q that Pir Pagara had accepted Chaudhry Shujaat as president of the unified party. Chaudhry Pervaiz defended the way the party was being run.
He recalled a recent meeting of provincial chief ministers with Prime Minister Jamali where he (Pervaiz) had argued in favour of the chief minister being the provincial president of the party.
He said he had told the prime minister that without this the chief ministers would not be able to deliver. But, Chaudhry Pervaiz said, a conspiracy was hatched after the meeting and the prime minister told a private TV channel that he had become secretary-general of the party.
When he contacted the prime minister and asked him if he had made such an announcement, Mr Jamali answered in the affirmative. The chief minister said he had told the prime minister that this was not the constitutional way of assuming a party office and that he should not take any step which could create misunderstandings among party leaders.
In an obvious reference to the information minister's view that there was no need to discuss inner-party differences in the presence of the media, he said the meeting had been called to seek elected representatives' views on various issues.
He said he would advise the party president also to take legislators from other provinces into confidence. He said criticism made by various speakers should be instructive for the relevant people to rectify their mistakes. He said he faced severe criticism everyday and accordingly tried to improve his work.
The chief minister criticized the Sharifs for fleeing the country as a result of a deal, keeping the party in the dark. It was after their departure that he and Chaudhry Shujaat undertook efforts to set up a party. He said he clearly remembered those who had supported the party during difficult periods and those who had joined it subsequently.
Chaudhry Shujaat said he had told Mr Jamali that it would not be practicable for him to work both as prime minister and the party's secretary-general. He said some offices of the party would have to be kept vacant to accommodate the National Alliance in the PML.
If all the offices were filled, Chaudhry Shujaat said, the NA would have no incentive to merge with the ruling party.
Talking to reporters at the end of the meeting, the information minister said the prime minister would not insist on becoming the secretary-general and he would accept a party decision on the matter. In the present situation, he said, the PML-Q would have to take all smaller factions along.
|
|