News
Monday, April 04, 2011
PPP to reiterate parliamentary supremacy today
* CEC meets to secure powers of parliament, five-year tenure of government
* Committee to discuss reducing five-year term of elected government to four years
By Muhammad Akram
LAHORE: The central executive committee (CEC) of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is likely to make a solemn pledge not to let any institution take away the powers of parliament in its meeting to be held on the 32nd death anniversary of the party’s founder, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), in Naudero today (Monday).
Sources in the party informed Daily Times that a resolution had been carefully drafted keeping in view the much-anticipated executive-judiciary showdown likely later this month when important cases, including the NRO, contempt of court initiated against the PPP leaders protesting Deedar Hussain Shah’s removal as NAB chairman and ZAB’s case would come up for hearing in the apex court.
Sources said the resolution would be a reiteration of the emphasis made by President Asif Ali Zardari in his address to the joint session of parliament last month wherein he emphatically made it clear that the party would not let the power of parliament to legislate to be taken away under any pretext by any constitutional institution.
Sources said the CEC was likely to resolve that all cases concerning the supremacy of parliament and working of the PPP for liberal, progressive and democratic norms in the society. “A triumph on this front will be vital for the party before going for the next general elections,” they elaborated.
They said that most powerful policy planning forum of the party was likely to deliberate upon one of the key points doing rounds in various political circles, including those within the party, to float a suggestion of curtailing five-year term of an elected government, including of the present one, to four years in order to put to rest the rumour mongering industry in the country on the issue of mid-term elections.
Sources said the point had been part of discussions between top leaders of the PPP with important leaders of PML-N, PML-Q and MQM in the past and had never met any opposition.
They said it was being debated that a constitutional amendment, if agreed by all important political forces, could be embodied in the constitution for the next 12 years or at least for next three democratically elected governments.
The sources said that the committee’s meeting would discuss political ties of the party with its present allies and forging alliances with other parties in the future in order to provide a room to the PPP government to complete its term in office, if not reduced to four years, following a political agreement with the all the parliamentary forces.
The sources said that the CEC was likely to deliberate upon the PPP’s alliance with MQM in Sindh and political engagement with MQM in the future. The CEC is also likely to deliberate upon the role of PML-N as opposition at the Centre and its act of sending the PPP ministers home packing in Punjab.
The PPP, said the sources, was likely to discuss the politics of turncoats being reintroduced by the PML-N in Punjab and its fallout for parliament.
The sources said that the CEC was likely to adopt a resolution for early local bodies elections in the Sindh province besides asking the provincial chapter to expedite the process of sorting out modalities with the allies, including the MQM and PML-F, at the earliest so that Sindh could set an example for other provinces in this regard.
They said that the CEC was likely to endorse the government’s foreign policy initiatives, through a resolution, particularly melting of the ice with India and initiation of a dialogue near to much-appreciated composite dialogue process abandoned between the two countries following the terrorist attacks on Mumbai.
They explained the CEC was likely to urge the party’s government to pursue the look-east policy of Benazir Bhutto (BB) she pledged to work on by inking the Charter of Democracy in 2006 after reaching political reconciliation with the PML-N.
The sources said that the party’s leadership would be invited to deliberate upon the progress made by a committee probing into the assassination of BB. “The interior minister is unlikely to present a complete report on investigation like he did before on the instructions of the party’s high command,” they elaborated.
They said the interior minister would only share few points of the investigation to seek backing of the CEC while the rest of the matter would be left confidential yet again citing the reason of secrecy on this high profile political murder.
The sources added that the filing of reference to the Supreme Court (SC) to reopen ZAB’s case would also be taken up as the same had been approved in previous sittings of the CEC to give a vote of thanks to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani government for fulfilling its promise of washing off the black slur from the judicial history and giving the great leader the real status in country’s political history.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk