ISLAMABAD, July 23: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Wednesday met President Gen Pervez Musharraf and firmed up the government stance on the LFO which would be discussed with the heads of opposition parties on Sunday.
Sources close to the presidency told Dawn that Gen Musharraf, having heard what had transpired at Mr Jamali’s meetings with various opposition leaders last week, spelled out the extent to which the premier could go in his much- awaited talks with the opposition parties’ heads.
Sunday’s will be the first ruling-opposition parties’ meeting after President Musharraf announced that he was flexible on the issue of his uniform provided the opposition was focused on the LFO.
“The prime minister discussed with the president his meetings with the leaders of various political parties in the backdrop of prevailing political situation in the country,” said an official announcement issued later.
“The two leaders (also) exchanged views on various important international, regional and national issues,” it said further.
Besides, political observers are bemused at the recent statement of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that the issue of uniform would not be discussed with the opposition parties.
On July 5, President Musharraf had himself said that he was ready to show flexibility on contentious issues of the LFO in negotiations with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, including his uniform.
Sources close to the president claimed that he was willing to discuss the issue of his uniform but in a discreet manner.
The official handout said the president had informed the prime minister of his talks with the leaders of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
The president said there was a strong desire from these leaders to strengthen relations with Pakistan by expanding trade and economic cooperation as well as collaboration in the field of science and technology.
The president also exchanged views with the prime minister about his talks with the leaders of Maghreb countries for the revitalization of the Organization of Islamic Conference and ways and means to address the issues confronting the Ummah.
PML-Q MEETING: The much-awaited meeting of the government-opposition parliamentary parties’ heads will be held on Sunday at 11am to discuss the contentious LFO issue.
The announcement to this affect was made by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali at the ruling PML(Q)’s parliamentary party meeting which he had convened and chaired at the PML House on Wednesday.
Mr Jamali, while taking his party’s parliamentary group into confidence on the upcoming talks with the opposition on the LFO, expressed the hope that a breakthrough will be made in the July 27 meeting, and that it will be final and decisive.
Meanwhile, the ruling party expressed optimism that if the opposition reciprocated Prime Minister Jamali’s gesture of reinitiating the dialogue process, the forthcoming talks will definitely yield positive results.
Only about 75 MNAs out of a total 110 and a small number of senators attended the parliamentary party meeting.
The prime minister, who was to brief newsmen after the meeting, left the venue to meet President Gen Musharraf. In his place, Information Minister Shiekh Rashid talked to the waiting journalists.
Tough security measures were taken at the PML house as it was surrounded by a large posse of commandos, plain-clothes men, uniformed police and intelligence agencies operatives.
During the meeting a number of party MPs objected to the convening of the parliamentary meeting in the absence of the parliamentary party leader Chaudhry Shujaat.
Some of the members strongly supported the process of dialogue to break the deadlock on the LFO. They even supported giving as much concessions to the opposition as possible in the talks to save the democratic process from derailing.
Sheikh Rashid evaded direct answers when asked about the chances of talks’ success in the face of the tough stand taken by the government and the opposition on the issue of president’s army uniform.
He, however, said: “I, as a spokesman for the government, would like to declare that the prime minister’s talks offer on the floor of the National Assembly was unconditional and the government will go into the parleys with an open mind”.
The minister said the parliamentary party meeting which he claimed was largely attended by party MNAs and senators fully empowered the PM to negotiate a deal on behalf of the ruling party and reposed full confidence in his ability and political acumen.
Replying to a question, the minister said all political parties will be invited to the party heads’ meeting but no decision had yet been taken as to who will head the government’s negotiation team. The party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who is expected to return home on Friday, will definitely be in the this team, he claimed.
A number of party MPs impressed upon the prime minister to take a tough line with the opposition which they said was creating hurdles in the smooth running of parliament for the last nine months.
Some members of the ruling party from Punjab criticised the provincial government for ignoring their grievances and for giving them no role in the development process.
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