Pakistani Politics

Parody of the Famous Song Dil Da Mamla

With the first batch of 20-member federal cabinet is all set to be administered oath by President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, the two main coalition parties — the PPP and the PML-N — have not yet been able to break the deadlock over who heads the information ministry.

Two rounds of talks were held here on Wednesday to sort out differences over the ministry for which both the parties are staking their claims. The first round was held at the Parliament House while the second at the Zardari House, but both failed to break the impasse. However, they agreed to meet again on Thursday.

PPP delegation comprised Syed Khurshid Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar and Sherry Rehman while PML-N delegation consisted of Senator Ishaq Dar, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Khwaja Asif. In the meeting at the Zardari House that was also attended by Asif Ali Zardari, almost 90 per cent issues relating to cabinet and chairmanship of standing committees of the National Assembly were resolved.

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Deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will visit Quetta on March 31 to meet his relatives. He would leave Islamabad at 10:30am by air for Quetta and would spend some days at his home in the provincial metropolis.

Besides, he also planned to address bar associations in the province. This was revealed by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan while talking to newsmen outside the residence of deposed chief justice.

Aitzaz, along with a delegation of lawyers, including former SCBA president Munir A Malik, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmud, Ali Ahmed Kurd and others, met Justice Chaudhry on Wednesday to finalise schedule of his address to different bar associations of the country.

Aitzaz said the deposed chief justice would first go to Quetta on March 31 where he would also attend a dinner to be hosted in his honour by the Balochistan High Court Bar Association. Aitzaz said Justice Chaudhry would also address the Sukkur Bar Association, the date of which would be announced later.

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In his first meeting with any foreign visitor after taking oath, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday told the United States that decisions on all important policy matters and national issues would be taken by parliament as the government was determined to fight terrorism in all its forms politically, economically and strategically.

“Parliament is a sovereign body and every effort will be made to ensure its supremacy. Terrorism is a matter of concern for us and we would confront it with full determination,” he said in his first meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State, John D. Negroponte who called on him here at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday.

US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher also attended the meeting. Foreign Secretary and senior government officials of the Foreign Ministry were also present on the occasion.

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Song Parody of Amar Akbar Anthony

The PPP-led coalition’s nominated candidate for the prime minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, on Sunday vowed to protect the 1973 Constitution, strengthen the institutions, ensure the independence of judiciary and the media and to work for making parliament a sovereign body.

“I shall come up to the confidence reposed in me by the party and the coalition partners and now we will all have to collectively forge ahead for steering the country out of the present challenges,” he said while addressing a press conference after filing his nomination papers for the office of the prime minister. He was accompanied by PPP Information Secretary Sherry Rehman.

Gilani said he would give the agenda of the next government on the floor of the house after his election as the Leader of the House in the National Assembly on Monday.He said all the coalition parties would help each other in parliament for the revival of the 1973 Constitution, independence of judiciary and media. “We will have to work jointly to steer the country out of the challenges and it is not the work of single man,” he said.

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The security forces deployed in front of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s house in the Judges Enclave in Islamabad will be removed on Tuesday evening, marking the symbolic end of an era when absolute power was enjoyed by one man for eight years, five months and 13 days.

Power practically will be shifted to the democratically-elected prime minister on March 25, sources in the Pakistan People’s Party confirmed to The News on Sunday. According to the senior leader of the lawyers’ movement, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmud, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, after being released from his five-month-long detention by President Pervez Musharraf, will remain at his home for three to four days and will meet visitors. Afterwards, Justice Chaudhry may travel to any city, if invited to address a bar council, Tariq said.

Senior constitutional expert Senator SM Zafar told The News on Sunday that in the post-October 12, 1999 scenario, Pervez Musharraf was enjoying absolute power being the chief executive of the country and the chief of Army staff.

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The National Assembly Monday elected PPP’s Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani as the new prime minister of the country with thumping majority.

Gilani bagged 264 votes. The rival candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, fielded by the Pakistan Muslim League-Q and its allies secured 42 votes.

In a maiden speech on the floor of National Assembly after he was elected as Prime Minister, he said, “I request the national assembly as my first job to pass a resolution for UN probe into the assassination of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.”

Elaborating the top priorities of the new government, the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani vowed to take all out efforts for the supremacy of parliament.

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Co-chairman of Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari and Makhdoom Amin Faheem are holding a confidence building meeting today, sources said.

The PPP central leaders’ efforts for patch up between the two top leaders of the party have become successful and Asif Zardari has invited Faheem on dinner, sources said.

Amin Faheem has shown positive response to the invitation and the dinner meeting would be helpful to remove misunderstanding between the two leaders, party sources further said.

President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday signed a summary to summon the National Assembly for its inaugural session on March 17, after a gap of almost a month following the general elections held on February 18.

The lower house of parliament will meet for its opening session at 11:00 am at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain. “President Pervez Musharraf signed the summary on Tuesday for the assembly’s session on March 17, which was forwarded by the Prime Minister Secretariat,” said presidential spokesman Maj-Gen (retd) Rashid Qureshi while talking to The News here.

He expressed his ignorance about the summoning of the sessions of the four provincial assemblies on the same day, as reported by some private television channels. The spokesman said that the speaker of the previous assembly would preside over the proceedings, which would be confined to oath-taking of the newly-elected lawmakers. Election of the new speaker will also be held during the opening session. Deputy speaker will be elected under the new speaker.

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