LAHORE, Oct 12: The Pakistan People’s Party has sought support of the Pakistan Muslim League-N for adopting a resolution in the National Assembly to endorse the government’s policy on the war on terror.
But the PML-N has expressed only conditional support for the resolution planned to be tabled in the National Assembly after the current joint session of the parliament, a PML-N leader privy to the development said.
Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik carried a message of President and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif seeking the latter’s support for the resolution.
However, Mr Sharif met only Mr Naek, refusing to meet Mr Malik.
The party official said that the PML-N chief had told the law minister that his party could support the resolution only if the government agreed to reinstate deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and made public the agreements former president Gen Pervez Musharraf had signed with the United States relating to the war on terror.
Meanwhile, speaking at a ceremony held at Raiwind residence of the Sharifs here on Sunday to mark the Oct 12, 1999, army takeover, the PML-N chief demanded that Gen Musharraf should be tried for abrogating the Constitution and ousting his elected government nine years ago.
“The former president must be held answerable before the parliament for his unconstitutional deeds of eights years.”
He said that the former president should be questioned why did he hand over so-called terrorists to other countries for the sake of money.
He should be asked why did he subvert the Constitution and sack 60 judges.
He said giving indemnity to the former president would be highly regrettable because his wrong policies had forced the country to beg for aid and pushed it far behind the countries which had gained independence after Pakistan.
Stressing the need for holding dialogue to resolve the issue of terrorism, he warned that the country could not afford further turmoil.
“The country needs to be governed by a national policy, not by Musharraf’s policy which has damaged the country to the roots.”
He said that had President Zardari honoured his commitments, the country would have come out of all the crises by now.
“Had Mr Zardari fulfilled his pledge in April and restored the judges, the crises faced by the country could have been resolved a long time ago.”
Urging the government to deliver, Mr Sharif said the PML-N did not believe in criticism for the sake of criticism and wanted the country to make real progress.
PML-N President and Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif also addressed the gathering and recited the famous poem of late Habib Jalib: “Main Naheen Manta”.
Praising Nawaz Sharif’s stand against dictatorship over the past eight years, he said the former prime minister had bravely confronted the dictator, adding that his firm stand and PML-N workers’ struggle had led to the restoration of democracy in the country.
