ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday hinted at inviting leaders of opposition parties to talks to end the ongoing confrontation in parliament. Talking to journalists at the Prime Minister's House, he said the government was eager to engage the opposition in talks and had constituted a three-member ministerial committee for the purpose.
The prime minister said that after the rejection of the no-confidence motion against the National Assembly speaker he would now focus on strengthening his contacts with the opposition leaders.
Mr Aziz said he had already contacted some political figures in person or on the phone. He said that as soon as the Leader of the Opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, returned from abroad the process of engaging the opposition leadership would begin.
The prime minister, however, rejected the opposition parties' demand to withdraw the bill passed by the National Assembly allowing President Gen Pervez Musharraf to retain the army office.
"Once a piece of legislation is passed by parliament it becomes part of the constitution and one has to move ahead," he said. The bill passed by the National Assembly would now go to the Senate which also would pass it to make it an act of parliament, he added.
When asked about the rationale of convening the ruling coalition's parliamentary party meeting at a time when a debate on the no-trust motion was going on, Mr Aziz said: "We had convened the meeting but then we decided otherwise. Still some people chose to sit outside parliament."
The prime minister expressed the hope that the government-opposition contacts would move forward whether these were made officially or privately. "We have to take Pakistan forward and we have to give the democratic system a chance to progress," he added.
The prime minister justified the strategy adopted by the treasury benches to counter the no-trust motion by keeping their members away from the process of voting. The law allowed us to adopt this strategy, he said. However, he rejected the opposition's charge that some of the MNAs were forcibly dragged out of the house. He regretted the opposition's attitude during the house proceedings, especially the tearing up of ballot papers which, he said, was uncalled for and against the decorum of parliament.
He said the members had gathered at various places including his chamber and they were free to move and sit anywhere they wished to. The prime minister dismissed apprehensions about a rise in the prices of essential items.
