Nawaz, Zardari to meet today
April 16, 2014
The composition of the delegations of the two sides indicates that financial issues and constitutional affairs would be on top of the list in the course of deliberations. Prime Minister Nawaz will be assisted by Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Science and Technology Minister Zahid Hamid while Asif Zardari will have with him Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah, PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani and Sindh Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah. The meeting will be held in the Prime Minister's House on Wednesday afternoon and will be followed by lunch. Nawaz and Asif will also have one-on-one meeting after the delegation level talks. It would be the first meeting between the two leaders since the incumbent government assumed office last year.
High-level sources in the Prime Minister's House told The News that the request for the meeting came from former president Zardari and it was conveyed to the prime minister late last month. Interestingly, those were the days when the prime minister visited the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan at his Banni Gala house in the suburbs of the federal capital. It would be pertinent to mention here that Asif Zardari publicly advised Nawaz Sharif not to let former president Pervez Musharraf off the hook. He used derogatory language about Musharraf when he was offering a piece of advice to the government. It is almost certain that the two will discuss the fate of the case of former military ruler, security affairs and the ongoing process of dialogue with the Taliban. The PPP was on board with regard to the decision for undertaking talks with the Taliban. The PPP strongly supported the decision taken on September 9th in the all-party conference (APC) held in Islamabad last year where the government was mandated to have talks with the Taliban. Other political issues will also come up for discussion, the sources said.
The sources reminded that the government was pursuing the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO) with all seriousness. The National Assembly has passed it and it may hardly sail through the Senate where the PPP is the largest party and commands the opposition in that house.
Inclusion of Federal Minister Zahid Hamid, who is piloting the legislation in the two houses of parliament, in the prime minister's delegation and leaders of the opposition in the two houses of parliament with visiting former president indicates that adoption of PPO would be yet another subject of discussion.
Senator Mian Raza Rabbani has already hinted at reconciling with the PPO provided the government agrees to certain amendments in the piece of legislation. Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah has also been following a soft path regarding the legislation in question, the sources said.
It is understood that other opposition parties, especially the MQM, would be uncomfortable with an agreement between the two parties on the PPO since it has been opposing it tooth and nail. The MQM is alleging that its workers are being nabbed under the PPO which is already enforced as a presidential ordinance. The meeting will also deliberate on fiscal issues as the budget season is approaching and the Sindh government has been asking the federal government for generous fiscal assistance for its development projects.
The sources said that Wednesday's meeting would be monitored by the TIP since it has been alleging throughout that Nawaz and Zardari are one and the same. They are running their politics under clandestine compromises. The meeting will have a considerable impact on national politics as the prime minister is mulling to have similar meetings with some other political leaders.
