PESHAWAR: The NWFP chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) decided at a parliamentary party meeting on Monday to resign from the Awami National Party-led coalition government if their demands were not met by March 31.
The meeting, chaired by the party’s parliamentary leader, Abdul Akbar Khan, reviewed the situation that was witnessed in two lengthy meetings on the last day of the current assembly session convened by the government.
PPP ministers in the provincial cabinet, who had handed over their resignation letters to their parliamentary leader, authorised him to forward them at a proper time if they were not treated as equal partners in the government according to their power-sharing formula decided earlier.
President Asif Zardari’s political Adviser Sardar Ali Khan also attended the meeting. The PPP parliamentarians, who had been complaining against the ANP for not treating their party as an equal partner, discussed their reservations and decided to part company with its senior partner after March 31.
PPP parliamentary leader Abdul Akbar was authorised to send their resignation letters to the NWFP governor in the second phase. The PPP parliamentary leader while briefing reporters about details of the meeting reminded they had briefed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on their reservations during his visit to Peshawar and now they would apprise President Asif Zardari of the situation within the next several days. He said Senator Sardar Ali Khan would also apprise the president, who is the party’s co-chairperson and could take final decision in this connection.
Abdul Akbar, however, denied the PPP ministers had tendered resignations or his party had given any deadline till March 31. Earlier, differences in theHe said the provincial government had reserved 200 kanals of land in Hayatabad for the construction of the provincial assembly building, but the NWFP chief minister had allotted 186 kanals out of it to other departments, which, he said, was an insult to the speaker and the assembly. He sought the speaker’s ruling on this issue or proposed that the matter should be referred to the house committee.
Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the PPP parliamentary leader should explain as to whether he was not a part of the provincial government. The allotment of land, he said, was the decision of the government. He said Abdul Akbar was giving an impression as if the government had distributed it among the ‘blue-eyed boys’.
He said the land had been reserved for proposed mental hospital and the SOS village. Claiming that the speaker had been taken into confidence, he opposed the demand of sending the matter to the committee or seeking the speaker’s ruling. He suggested the party elders to sit together to resolve the issue.
Noor Sehar of the PPP said: “We could not remain silent and will differentiate between truth and lies.” PPP-S’s Israrullah Khan Gandapur asked the lawmakers not to make it an issue of ego. ANP’s Saqibullah Chamkani suggested resolution of the issue though negotiations.
JUI-F’s Mufti Kifayatullah said they were not happy with differences in the coalition government, though he felt the chief minister should respect the legislature. PML-Q’s Qalandar Lodhi said there was no need for any ruling by the speaker or referring it to assembly committee. PML-N’s Munawar Khan said the rulers should not distribute the land allocated for the assembly building to other departments.
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=27803
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