Security
Pakistan: Zardari meets parties in bid to resolve corruption claims
Islamabad, 2 Nov. (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari was due to hold a critical meeting on the vexed issue of political amnesty - the National Reconciliation Ordinance - late Monday. Zardari was expected to speak to coalition parties about the issue as the national assembly was also considering it.
The ordinance was issued by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in 2007 under a Washington brokered deal between him and former prime minister, later assassinated Benazir Bhutto, to end corruption cases against Bhutto and her spouse, Zardari, now the incumbent president.
The crucial Pakistan Peoples Party ally, the Muttehida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has advised Zardari to quit office and face the charges in a court of law.
The president is likely to seek the support of coalition partners on the NRO by declaring it critical for ensuring reconciliation in domestic politics.
Various leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) and other leaders are expected to attend Monday's meeting.
In a dramatic development late Sunday, the MQM’s chief in exile in London, Altaf Hussain spoke to Zardari's close aide, the minister for parliamentary affairs Babar Awan, and sent a message to Zardari asking him to resign and face corruption charges against him.
He also informed Babar Awan that his MQM party would oppose the NRO in the parliament.
“I confirm that I sent this message to the president and I urge him to make a sacrifice for the broader interest of democracy,” Altaf Hussain told Geo TV’s Dr. Shahid Masood in an interview.
Earlier, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League, the second largest party in the parliament, Nawaz Sharif, announced plans to oppose the NRO inside and outside the parliament.
“This is a shameful ordinance on the face of democracy and on the country. We must fight to get rid of this ordinance, Sharif said.
Independent members of parliament from the Federal Administered Tribal Areas who are also allied with the ruling Pakistan People's Party, have also announced plans to oppose the NRO and a planned boycott of the president’s meeting at the presidential palace on Monday.
In the wake of these most important developments in the country, prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was holding an important meeting with senior army leaders on Monday.
There is also tension between the army and the president over the Kerry-Lugar bill, a US aid package worth 1.5 billion dollars a year for the next five years. An army spokesperson condemned the Kerry-Lugar bill.
Current differences leave the Pakistan Peoples Party in no position to win a majority of votes in the parliament for the approval of the NRO as it requires a two thirds majority to be approved.
Pakistan Muslim League's Quaid-e-Azam has also vowed to oppose the bill while two government allies, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam led Maulana Fazlur Rahman and the Awami National Party have called the meetings of their parties to decide their position on the issue.
The ordinance was issued by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in 2007 under a Washington brokered deal between him and former prime minister, later assassinated Benazir Bhutto, to end corruption cases against Bhutto and her spouse, Zardari, now the incumbent president.
The crucial Pakistan Peoples Party ally, the Muttehida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has advised Zardari to quit office and face the charges in a court of law.
The president is likely to seek the support of coalition partners on the NRO by declaring it critical for ensuring reconciliation in domestic politics.
Various leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) and other leaders are expected to attend Monday's meeting.
In a dramatic development late Sunday, the MQM’s chief in exile in London, Altaf Hussain spoke to Zardari's close aide, the minister for parliamentary affairs Babar Awan, and sent a message to Zardari asking him to resign and face corruption charges against him.
He also informed Babar Awan that his MQM party would oppose the NRO in the parliament.
“I confirm that I sent this message to the president and I urge him to make a sacrifice for the broader interest of democracy,” Altaf Hussain told Geo TV’s Dr. Shahid Masood in an interview.
Earlier, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League, the second largest party in the parliament, Nawaz Sharif, announced plans to oppose the NRO inside and outside the parliament.
“This is a shameful ordinance on the face of democracy and on the country. We must fight to get rid of this ordinance, Sharif said.
Independent members of parliament from the Federal Administered Tribal Areas who are also allied with the ruling Pakistan People's Party, have also announced plans to oppose the NRO and a planned boycott of the president’s meeting at the presidential palace on Monday.
In the wake of these most important developments in the country, prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was holding an important meeting with senior army leaders on Monday.
There is also tension between the army and the president over the Kerry-Lugar bill, a US aid package worth 1.5 billion dollars a year for the next five years. An army spokesperson condemned the Kerry-Lugar bill.
Current differences leave the Pakistan Peoples Party in no position to win a majority of votes in the parliament for the approval of the NRO as it requires a two thirds majority to be approved.
Pakistan Muslim League's Quaid-e-Azam has also vowed to oppose the bill while two government allies, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam led Maulana Fazlur Rahman and the Awami National Party have called the meetings of their parties to decide their position on the issue.
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