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No breakthrough in Zardari, Nawaz meeting

* Both leaders fail to agree on timetable for repeal of 17th Amendment, implementation of Charter of Democracy

By Nauman Tasleem

LAHORE: In a four-hour meeting held in Raiwind on Friday, both President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif failed to agree on a timetable to repeal the 17th Amendment and implement the Charter of Democracy, a key demand by Sharif without which he is not ready to make any concessions to the government.

The 11 points agreed to by both leaders include clauses which were evidently included at the insistence of one party or the other. For example, clause 6, relating to the Charter of Democracy, was clearly included at the PML-N’s insistence. Clause 9, which calls on all parties to collectively solve Pakistan’s problems, was obviously included by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is desperate for the PML-N’s support on a variety of issues. Clause 7, which deals with the working of the parliamentary committee on constitutional reform, does not set a timeframe, which the PML-N insisted on. Instead, it is deliberately ambiguously worded, saying the body will complete its work ‘in the shortest possible time’. Clearly, a PPP requirement, since the party doesn’t want to be tied up again keeping in view past experience.

A statement issued after the meeting said the two leaders agreed that the situation in Balochistan should be addressed urgently. They both repeated calls to pursue political dialogue and development of the province to remove any sense of alienation from the people of the region.

The two leaders also agreed that militancy and terrorism posed the most serious threat to national security. “Militants should not be allowed to impose their agenda on the people through guns and bullets,” the statement said.

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