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Tuesday March 19, 2024

‘Some people’ want to get back to NA through 22nd Amendment: Fazl

Tells Pervaiz Rashid, Saad Rafiq he won’t support govt; information minister hopes issue will be resolved soon; Fazl, Zardari agree to cooperate with each other in Senate elections

By our correspondents
March 01, 2015
ISLAMABAD: In a covert reference to the PTI, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Saturday said some people wanted to get back to Parliament by supporting the government on the proposed 22nd Amendment.
Fazl said this in his meeting with the Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq.
He told the two ministers in clear terms that the JUI-F would not back the government on the proposed constitutional amendment.
Later, talking to newsmen, Pervaiz Rashid said the JUI-F chief had expressed some reservations, which they would convey to the prime minister.
“It would be our endeavour to address the reservations of the JUI-F chief,” said the minister, adding, “We appreciate his struggle for democracy and his role in the war on terror.”
He was positive that the issue would be resolved soon. Fazl said the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms was deliberating on issues pertaining to transparency in elections.
Fazl said he had informed the government delegation about his reservations about the constitutional amendment.
FAZAL-ZARDARI MEETING: Fazl later met Co-Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari. During the dinner meeting, Fazl opposed the proposed 22nd Amendment and said elimination of horse-trading should not restrict to the Senate alone on the desire of one party.
Former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Senator Farhatullah Babar, PPP KP President Khanzada Khan and Qayyum Soomro were also present.
It was decided that the PPP and JUI-F will cooperate with each other in the upcoming Senate election, especially in the election of chairman and deputy chairman.
Sources said the formula for the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also finalised under which both the parties will support each other.
The two leaders were of opinion that all parties should internally sort out the issue and trust each other, as it was not the right time to bring a constitutional amendment.
Pervaiz Rashid said that reservations of Maualna Fazl would be taken up with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif adding that Pakistan Muslim
League Nawaz (PML-N) was duty-bound to remove his reservations to the entire satisfaction of JUI-F leaders.
The prime minister, he said, was highly serious in resolving the issue in cooperation and consultation with the JUI-F chief.
INFORMATION MINISTER: Earlier, terming complete support and backing by JUI-F in the war against terrorism as ‘vital,’ Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid hoped that its leadership would rise above the occasion and fully support the government’s recent sincere efforts to root out the menace of terrorism with multi-pronged strategies.
Replying to a question, Pervaiz Rashid said democratic parties always struggled to promote and nurture high democratic values in the country, adding that PML-N wanted to take along all political parties for setting exemplary democratic norms.
Unfortunately, he said, it was the dictatorship that crushed democratic and moral values and encouraged sectarianism, communalism and bribery in politics, adding that PML-N wanted to clear all this mess in collaboration with democracy-loving parties.
Pervaiz Rashid said there was no difference among political parties on ending the horse-trading.
“There can be difference on way of achieving the task but all are in favour of cleansing the political system,” he added.