Pakistan Views

Two component parties of the ruling coalition, Muslim League-N and Awami National Party have expressed their reservations over postponement of the bye-elections. It is being expected that the decision of delay in the bye-polls will be reversed today. According to the information gathered by Geo News from sources inside the coalition, the government could not function in existing shape if the decision about delaying the bye-elections would not be cancelled. Muslim League-N and Awami National Party have expressed their reservations on the issue. The credibility of the NWFP government is being damaged with postponement of the elections, ANP has intimated to the major partner of the coalition Pakistan People’s Party, sources said. Muslim League-N was of the view that the elections have been deferred to stop entry of Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab Assembly. The decision is likely to be reverted today, sources added.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Asfandyar Wali will be taken into confidence about the accord with Mian Nawaz Sharif reached in Dubai, reported private TV channel. Zardari was speaking to media persons after meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other leaders of JUI(F) in Islamabad.He said that he had talked with the Maulana about various national issues the country is facing including Fata and restoration of judges. “We would nearly stick to twelfth of May about the restoration of judges,” the TV channel quoted him as saying. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, talking to media said that they would clear their stance about the restoration of judges when the resolution would be placed in the National Assembly and added it was the responsibility of two major parties to take coalition partners into confidence but they have not fulfilled their responsibility. “So now we are not able to respond to their agreement.”

The first contact has been made between the Awami National Party and the Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi.According to the sources, local office-bearers of Malakand from the Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi organization attended this joint jirga while the office-bearers, provincial ministers and others from the ANP were also present there. On this occasion, both sides agreed on the restoration of peace and maintaining the law and order situation in the area.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has reached the Parliament Lodges to hold talks with ANP President Asfandyar Wali on Saturday. According to report, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has reached the Parliament Lodges where he will call on ANP President Asfandyar Wali for the formation of government and discuss different political matters.

The political parties have accelerated efforts for the formation of new government and the consultation process for the said purpose has been underway with the hope that the important decisions will be made with in couple of days.
Three main parties of the future coalition government, PPP, PML-N and ANP have almost completed consultation process with agreement on all big issues. However, the PPP has yet to announce its nominee for the slot of Prime Minister although the issue of Speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly has already been resolved. Although Makhdoom Amin Fahim is still in race for Prime Minister-ship, however, after the reservations of Khawaja Asif over the candidature of Fahim, the situation has changed. It is said that PPP will announce its nominee for the slot of Prime Minister during the maiden session of the new parliament.

The committees of Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party have agreed over a formula for formation of coalition government in NWFP after successful talks here on Wednesday. The leaders of PPP and ANP held a meeting to decide about the distribution of ministries between two parties and settle other issues.
ANP leader Afrasiyab Khattak and PPP’s Rahimdad Khan talking to newsmen here after the meeting said the two sides have agreed to award the provincial assembly’s speaker office to People’s Party, while the deputy speaker’s slot will be given to ANP.
Awami National Party would also get the ministries of agriculture, Auqaf and Hajj, education, information technology, local government and law department.
The People’s Party has been awarded the portfolios of excise and taxation, finance, planning, food, industries and health department.
The two sides held the talks in a pleasant atmosphere and resolved all issues amicably, Afrasiyab Khattak said. All matters were settled amicably and a democratic government would be formed in the province, PPP leader Karamatullah Khan added.

PPP, PML-N and ANP on Tuesday held final round of talks before announcement the name of candidate for PM slot.The three parties have shown willingness to join hands for coalition government in Centre and the provinces after none of them could achieve simple majority to constitute independent governments. “PPP, ANP and PML-N discussed the details to finalize name of Makhdoom Amin Faheem as Prime Minister while Yousaf Raza Gillani as speaker of the national assembly,” the PPP sources said. ANP leader Asfandyar Wali called on PPP co-chairman Senator Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the issues of bilateral interest especially modalities to finalize joint government in Centre and the NWFP, the sources added. PPP has reiterated its assurance to extend its full support to ANP-led government in NWFP and, in response, the ANP leadership also repeated its stance to cooperate with PPP to run the government in Centre, Balochistan and Sindh.
In the evening a PML-N delegation including Nisar Ali Khan, Khawaja Asif and Ishaq Dar reached Zardari House and held a marathon meeting with PPP co- chairman Asif Ali Zardari. After the meeting, PML-N leaders told reporters that PPP, PML-N and ANP are all set to form a joint government and there existed a complete understanding on all important issues. Nisar said, “We want to give a clear message that PPP, PML-N and ANP are fully agreed on formation of a joint government in Centre, but there are some modalities that need further deliberation.”He said more meetings would be held in next couple of days between leadership of PPP and PML-N to evolve consensus on issues that were currently being discussed. “We are fully prepared to play our due role in resolving issues confronting Pakistan and a complete consensus would be developed on all issues within next eight to ten days,” he said. Ishaq Dar said the meeting was part of a series of meetings between Zardari and Nawaz Sharif and “we are trying to develop consensus on all important issues at the earliest.” The sources said PML-N leaders sought more time to formally inform the PPP leadership about its decision on whether or not its members would become part of the federal cabinet.

Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) on Monday agreed on an agenda to eliminate terrorism, create provincial autonomy and restoration of judiciary. Speaking to press conference after party’s committee meeting ANP’s leader Asfandyar Wali said that crisis in the tribal areas and other parts of the country could only be resolved by involving all the stakeholders in the peace process.
He said his first and utmost priority is to restore peace and end the sense of insecurity among the masses. He was flanked by Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Afrasiab Khattak, Haji Adeel, Mian Iftikhar Hussain and others. He also said that the ANP MPAs in the NWFP Assembly would select their leader in a parliamentary party meeting, who would be nominee of the party for chief minister office.
Asfandyar said that he has a blind support for PPP in Sindh and Balochistan, while in the Frontier province PPP would back his party. Both the parties would form separate committees for the future set-up in the NWFP coalition government he added.
He said the parliament will decide the fate of the deposed judges and independence of judiciary.

The leader of Awami National Party (ANP) hailed its election win over religious parties as a triumph for moderate forces, but called for international aid to stamp out militancy for good. Asfandyar Wali Khan, chief of the Awami National Party (ANP), an ethnic Pashtun group, said economic assistance and political reconciliation were the key to success in a region where al Qaeda and Taliban militants are holed up.
The ANP could form part of a national coalition government after it deposed the ruling fundamentalists in troubled North West Frontier Province in Monday’s elections.
“The voters have made it clear that they do not want wars and militancy,” Khan told AFP in an interview on Wednesday at his palatial house in the remote town of Charsadda, as armed police stood guard.
“The foremost priority for us now is to restore peace in this province, which is now known worldwide for producing extremists and terrorists,” Khan said.
ANP rallies were bombed twice in the run-up to the polls, killing around two dozen people.
Police installed scanners at the entrance to Khan’s house and thoroughly searched the hundreds of well wishers he greeted in a traditional Pashtun ‘hujra,’ or sitting area, in his house.
The party now has 10 national seats after the parliamentary elections — while the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of six religious parties, saw its seats fall from 56 to five. The ANP also clinched 31 out of 99 provincial assembly seats, while the religious party who formerly ruled the province won just nine.
Khan warned however that keeping momentum against extremism involved international economic assistance and ending the political disenfranchisement of many parts of the conservative province. “Our people have given their verdict and now the ball is in the court of the international community to support us in our quest to give our children books and pens instead of Kalashnikovs and suicide jackets,” he said. He blamed the ongoing insurgency in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, and a recent uprising led by a militant cleric in the scenic Swat Valley, on the outgoing administration’s failure to engage the region’s people. “It is in fact the existing sense of deprivation and disenchantment which forced people to launch a rebellion against the government,” Khan said.
Pakistani troops have killed hundreds of militants in the troubled tribal regions bordering Afghanistan since 2001.But Khan was non-committal when asked whether his party would continue to support the Musharraf regime’s support for the US-led “war on terror.” The ANP has previously spoken out against Pakistan’s involvement, saying that a war of foreign powers was being fought on Pakistani soil.
“As far as the war on terror is concerned, this is something being supervised by the central government,” Khan said.
“This is not a provincial matter but we will discuss it with the centre after formation of new governments.” But he was clear of the need to solve the militancy problem.
“God help Pakistan and this region if these moderate forces fail to deliver and rid the country of terrorism, militancy and extremism,” the ANP chief said.