ISLAMABAD - In a rare show of political maturity and policy of reconciliation, former president and Co-Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari will be meeting Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif in the afternoon on Wednesday (today) at Prime Minister’s House, confirmed an official at PM’s office.
Premier Sharif has hosted a lunch for former president Asif Ali Zardari, who is the PPP’s co-chairman, a leading opposition party in the parliament, a source aware of the development informed.
Former president Zardari would be accompanied by Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah and Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Finance Murad Ali Shah while Premier Sharif would be assisted by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and a couple of other cabinet colleagues.
Though there is no official word about the agenda of their meeting but sources in ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and PPP informed that host of issues would figure in the meeting with top on agenda would be to strengthen the democratic order in the country and allay threats to the system if there are any.
A source in the PPP informed The Nation that primarily the financial matters relating to Sindh government and the request for increase in federal grant for the province would be on the declared agenda of the meeting, adding that host of other issues including the prevailing tension in the civil-military relations in the backdrop of treason trial against former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, divergent viewpoint of PPP on Protection of Pakistan Bill (PPB) and talks with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan are some of the issues which could figure in the meeting.
Political analysts are attaching great significance to the meeting, which is a rare show of political maturity, where heads of two rival political parties are going to break the bread together at Prime Minister’s House.
Sources in ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) informed that Premier Sharif would seek the PPP co-chairman’s support in the passage of PPB from upper house of the parliament where PML-N could not get it through single-handedly, showing his party’s willingness to address the genuine concerns of the opposition parties, particularly PPP in the draft bill. Sources in PPP further informed that party co-chairman’s visit to PM’s House is aimed at strengthening him in taking political decisions with boldness and without having the impression of being politically alienated.