Pakistan Views

The two major political parties of the ruling coalition on Tuesday agreed on setting up a joint committee for scrutinising the constitutional package and giving it a final touch before tabling in the parliament.
“The PML (N) agreed with the PPP proposal of setting up a joint committee. However, the former declined to rejoin the Cabinet in the present scenario and linked it with the reinstatement of November 2, 2007 judiciary in accordance with the spirit of Murree Declaration,” a senior political leader said.

Most political analysts think that the agreement between the PPP and the PML (N) on the formation of joint committee will give at least some extra time to the PPP, whose government is in budget-making process amid the country’s horrifying economic crisis. The Nawaz League assured that it would support the PPP in the crucial budget-making process, said a PML(N) leader.

The two parties discussed these issues in a luncheon meeting between the PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Zardari House. Khawaja Asif and Ishaq Dar accompanied Shahbaz during the meeting while Zardari was assisted by Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Law Minister Farooq H. Naek and Information Minister Sherry Rehman.

The two sides agreed that Constitutional package will be placed before the Parliament after the budget for the next fiscal year. Zardari congratulated Shahbaz Sharif on his election to the Punjab Assembly and as prospective chief minister of the province. Asif Zardari assured Shahbaz Sharif that the PPP will support him as the Punjab chief minister and strengthen the provincial coalition government.

Meanwhile, PML(N) Chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq said that his party was maintaining its stand for reinstatement of the deposed judges in accordance with the Murree Declaration. “There is no change in our stance on the issue,” he told reporters after the first meeting of a six-member committee set up by the party high command for a scrutiny of a package of amendments to the Constitution proposed by the PPP.

The committee, which met at the Punjab House, examined various clauses of the constitutional package. “We agreed to a number of clauses of the draft,” Raja Zafar-ul-Haq said.

Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, who is heading the committee, said the panel would try to complete its task within a few days and submit a report to the party leadership. PML-N leaders Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ahsan Iqbal, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and legal expert Khawaja Haris attended the meeting. Prominent lawyer Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, who had been specially invited, was not present at the meeting.