ISLAMABAD: The main opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has objected to President Mamnoon Hussain’s participation in a PML-N meeting despite a ban on his taking part in political activities by the court.

“The PPP is surprised that unlike former president Asif Zardari, the incumbent president is no longer restrained by the court order from participating in partisan political meetings”, said PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar in a statement on Tuesday.

Also read: Presidency not to be used for politics, says govt

He said former president Zardari had been “restrained by the court observations from participating in PPP meetings, which were regarded a political activity not in keeping with the dignity and non-partisan nature of the office of the head of the state.”

“The former president, respecting the court orders, avoided attending meetings of PPP legislators and workers in Presidency even though he had reservations over it,” Mr Babar added.

Gathering not held in Presidency, says minister

The PPP’s reaction came in response to an official handout issued by the Prime Minister House stating that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had “co-chaired” a meeting with President Hussain with office-bearers of the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-N at the PM office on Monday.

Mr Babar said the press release had implied that the restraint did not apply to the incumbent president and vindicated the PPP’s position on the issue.

But Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal rejected the PPP’s criticism and said that the president had maintained the decorum of his office as the meeting had not been held in the Presidency.

Mr Iqbal, who also attended the Monday’s meeting, said that the criticism did not suit the PPP since Mr Zardari was the party’s co-chairman while he was president and he used to hold meetings of even the party’s central executive committee and so-called core committee in the Presidency.

He said President Hussain had been invited to the meeting at the request of PML-N members from Sindh since he had worked as the president of the party’s provincial chapter.

Replying a question, the minister said it seemed that the official handout had mentioned that the president had “co-chaired” the meeting with the prime minister only as mark of respect for Mr Hussain.

But Mr Babar said the press release had said that the general secretary of the PML-N’s Sindh chapter had briefed President Hussain and Prime Minister Sharif on the establishment of district committees in the province, which were asked to launch mass contact campaigns. The participants of the meeting and office-bearers of PML-N, according to the press release, were asked to intensify public contact and submit recommendations, he said.

“The PPP wonders how and why the act of President Hussain to preside over meetings and calling for the setting up of district committees of his party is not politicking but Mr Zardari’s addresses to PPP legislators and workers in the Presidency were a political activity,” Mr Babar said: “Wonders do not cease in the country as only the PPP leaders are judged.”

The Lahore High Court (LHC) had ruled on May 12, 2011 that the then president Asif Zardari should relinquish the post of PPP co-chairman and the Presidency should not be used for political activities.

“The use of Presidency for political activity is inconsistent with its sanctity, dignity, neutrality and independence. Therefore, it is expected that the president of Pakistan would cease the use of the premises of Presidency for political meetings of his party,” the four-judge bench of the LHC had said in its order on a petition challenging the holding of political office by Mr Zardari.

Senior lawyer A.K. Dogar had filed the petition on behalf of the Pakistan Lawyers Forum. The court had issued an ex parte verdict since the panel of lawyers representing the federation had withdrawn in protest during the hearing and no one had represented Mr Zardari.

Mr Babar said the PPP always believed that the president was elected by parliament, which was created through a political activity and had members from political parties. The president, he said, was an integral part of parliament and required by the constitution to address a joint session of parliament every year to deliver a political sermon.

But, he said, despite the obvious political nature of the office of the head of the state, Mr Zardari had discontinued meeting PPP parliamentarians and workers in the Presidency out of respect for the court ruling.

He said double standard being practised in respect of a PPP president and a non-PPP president were part of déjà vu as the party had endured the practice in the past,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd , 2015

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