- Bilawal last week accused coalition partner of ‘disrespect’ and ‘dishonouring’ agreements between two parties
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar with leading a committee to engage with the PPP in an attempt to resolve any concerns they may have about the ruling coalition.
Legal Advisor to Government Barrister Aqeel Malik while speaking to a private TV channel, asserted that the concerns expressed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto were no “misunderstanding” about the constitutional package issue as he had gone through his statement.
“I have listened to Bilawal’s statement carefully, but there is an impression that we (the PML-N) did not consult them, but this is not true,” Aqeel said. “We sought their input on increasing the number of judges and extending the tenures of service chiefs; raising the number of judges to 34 was a joint decision.”
“They were very much a part of this consultative process,” Aqeel maintained.
Earlier this week, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivered a strong statement against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing frustration with the coalition partner over the “disrespect” felt by his party and ‘unhonoured’ agreements between the two parties.
He maintained, however, that there was no direct rift with Sharif government.
The PPP chairman, in an informal conversation with reporters at Bilawal House, also accused the PML-N of reneging on commitments after the 26th Constitutional Amendment’s passage.
He said there was “no question of displeasure [with the government],” adding that politics wasn’t about displeasure but about respect, which his party felt was missing.
Barrister Aqeel continued that the prime minister formed a committee, comprising senior PML-N leaders to engage with the PPP and cool down the ‘tempers’.
“We are trying to address their reservations,” he said. “The PM has deputed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and given him the task of resolving their (the PPP’s) concerns.
“Dar sahib will lead the committee, made up of PMLN’s senior leadership, and work with Bilawal to put any concerns or reservations to rest,” he said.
Aqeel reiterated Bilawal’s key role in the constitutional package.
“His party was engaged in the consultative process and they voted for the bill in parliament,” he said.
According to political analysts, President Asif Ali Zardari is one of the ‘major guarantors’ of the stability of the current system, despite complaints against the PMN-N government, the party will not end support to the Shahbaz government, although the government cannot last without the support of the PPP.
They say that Bilawal Bhutto’s recent expression of resentment against the Shehbaz government, although part of the headlines, is not a threat to the PPP-backed government.
All the important people of the current system are aware that President Zardari’s thinking for the political and economic stability of the country is in agreement with the thinking of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir.
