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| 17 June 2004 | Thursday | 28 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
Assemblies to complete term: President assures lawmakers
ISLAMABAD, June 16: President Gen Pervez Musharraf held out an assurance on Wednesday that the elected assemblies would complete their term and there was no danger to the present parliamentary democratic system.
The assurance was given by the president to two groups of 17 parliamentarians belonging to the coalition parties from Punjab, who separately called on him in his National Assembly chamber.
The presidential chamber, which has only one lift from the side of president's house, has recently been refurbished for the president during the parliament sessions to meet lawmakers and oversee the house proceedings.
The president, according to insiders, asked the parliamentarians to accelerate development activities in their respective constituencies so as to prepare themselves for the next elections.
He also stressed upon them to strengthen coordination and cohesion in their ranks to help bring stability to the country's political scene. The president is expected to continue such meetings with parliamentarians drawn from various divisions of the treasury benches in next week or so, official sources said.
He urged the elected representatives to promote harmony in the upper and lower houses of parliament so that they could jointly work for the betterment and socio-economic uplift of the masses.
President Musharraf also advised the parliamentarians to rise above political differences and work together for identifying and resolving the problems confronting the common man.
During discussions with the lawmakers, the president tried to get their point of view about the working of Jamali government and to know their grievances, if any, against the government.
These meetings, according to political observers, were significant in the backdrop of the ongoing speculations about an in-house change to replace incumbent premier Zafarullah Jamali.
Though the participating parliamentarians were tight-lipped about the details of deliberations it was generally perceived that General Musharraf wanted to enhance his direct interaction with the coalition legislators to strengthen his political base before deciding on shedding his army chief's uniform by Dec 31.
The parliamentarians appreciated the president's initiatives on national and international levels and lauded the economic recovery that was achieved under his stewardship.
They also appreciated the president's initiative of announcing a comprehensive package for the farmers, which, in their opinion, would help alleviate problems that were faced by the community and promote agricultural growth.
They said the president was constitutionally a part of parliament and welcomed his decision to chair meetings with them in his chamber at the Parliament House which reflected his commitment to the cause of democracy in the country.
Those who attended the meeting included Ghulam Rasool Sahi, Mohammad Wasi Zafar, Mohammad Safdar Shakir, Mushtaq Ali Cheema, Mohammad Tahir Shah, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Ms Saima Akhtar Bharwana, Sahibzada M. Mehboob Sultan, Riaz Fatyana, Chaudhry Shah Akram Bhinder, Rana Omar Nazir Khan, Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz, Chaudhry Mehdi Hassan Bhatti, Chaudhry Liaquat Abbas Bhatti, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain and Chaudhry Rehman Naseer.
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