Reconciliation discussed at Aiwan-i-Sadr

A high-level meeting was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Saturday with President Asif Ali Zardari in chair, reports a private TV channel. According to sources, during the meeting, the participants discussed many options to tackle the prevailing political turmoil including reconciliation with PML-N. The meeting was convened by President Asif Ali Zardari to look into the options for successfully dealing with the political crisis, including extending contacts with PML-N, sources added, maintaining that the PML-Q is also playing a major role in this connection but it does not want to form government with the PPP. PPP will wait to come to any conclusion until PML-Q announced to form government in Punjab, sources claimed. Irfan Bukhari from Islamabad adds: Assailing the criticism on President Asif Ali Zardari by PML-N leaders, Federal Information Minister, Sherry Rehman here on Saturday said that the federal government could file a review petition in the apex court regarding Sharif brothers disqualification verdict if contacted by N-League. "The PPP leadership has always accepted and tolerated any verdict from courts of law and if PML-N exhibits flexibility, then reconciliation is possible", she further said while talking to media at the Parliament House. The minister said that the government had not yet devised any strategy for forming a government in Punjab and regretted the tirade against President Asif Ali Zardari by PML-N leadership. She said that the formation of government in Punjab is right of the party enjoying majority and Pakistan Peoples Party would bring no impediments in this process. "Whosoever gets majority would have the right to form government in Punjab," she observed stating that the government had listened to the speech of the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly patiently, which according to her, was full of criticism. She said the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly had criticized the government and the PPP set a positive trend by listening him without any prompt reaction. The minister cautioned that by merely criticizing the President PML-N could not achieve its goals and targets. Sherry Rehman said that the process of dialogue and reconciliation was important in politics. "Any party which shows majority in numbers will form the government in Punjab, however, until the new Leader of the House is not elected Governor Rule is necessary in the province in accordance with the Article 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan", she added. The minister stated that all the doors of Punjab Assembly were open. She strongly denied that government was ever involved in influencing Supreme Court's verdict in Sharifs' ineligibility case. "PPP is striving to establish democracy in its true form under the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani," said the information minister. She regretted the court verdict barring Sharif brothers from holding public office but also urged the political activists not to disrupt country's peace. Sherry Rehman said that the government was striving for durable peace in the country. "The situation in Swat has returned to normalcy solely due to peaceful dialogue, so it is our duty to focus our efforts for stability of the country", she observed. The minister said that it was not only the PPP, but also the PML-N MNAs who took oath as federal ministers from President Musharraf. "Those who comment about NRO should keep in mind that the people who were exonerated in the past also fall in the same category. The people of Pakistan are yearning for country's stability and peace so our struggle should also be based on this agenda," she said.

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