ISLAMABAD: The scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan People's Party Co-Chairman Asif...
ISLAMABAD: The scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari here on Wednesday has a conspicuous significance in the backdrop of developments taking place on the horizon of national politics and events requiring keen attention, including the ties between the civil and military leadership.
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.