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WEEKLY
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| PPP not to obstruct Musharraf trial: Wattoo |
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
By Our Correspondent
LAHORE
FEDERAL Minister for Industry and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo Saturday said the PPP would not obstruct the trial of General (r) Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 and extend support to any political party that takes an initiative.
Flanked by his son Muazzam Wattoo and party member Munir Ahmed Khan at a press conference, Wattoo said the PPP had a principle stand over the issue of Musharraf’s trial and it would not obstruct the former president’s trial.
About the issue of repealing the 17th Amendment, Wattoo said President Asif Ali Zardari had already made the decision about power devolution by and large and his stand on 17th Amendment was very clear. He said President Zardari possessed a democratic vision and wanted a sovereign parliament.
Asked to comment over the demand for NRO beneficiaries to step down, Wattoo said ministers had faced courts while holding offices but one can hold office as long as one is not convicted. He said the president enjoyed immunity under constitution.
About Balochistan, Wattoo said a package for the province was ready and would be announced soon. He said the delay in the announcement of the package was merely because the PML-N wanted more people to be taken on board over this package. He said the delay reflected that the government respected PML-N’s will.
Wattoo said the government was taking all steps in vital national interests. He said national solidarity was the greatest challenge faced by the government He said some elements were conveying a perception that the government was unable to face challenges adding this could only lead to an uncertainty which had always proved detrimental to the system.
He said the government faced the issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and most of the people within and outside the parliament predicted that this massive displacement couldn’t be overcome by the government for years. He said the government successfully tackled that challenge and people returned to their homes. He said security forces defeated terrorists in Swat which was to the credit of Pakistan Army as well as the government.
He said the current set up was a clear instance of national government as all political forces of the country including the PPP, the PML-N, the ANP and the MQM were in power. Even the PML-Q was a stakeholder in Balochistan government, he added.
He said consensus has also been developed over the NFC Award and it would be announced soon whereas it wasn’t announced by previous regimes.
Wattoo also praised Nawaz Sharif on his statement to support the democratic system, saying it was a very positive sign and showed that Nawaz had learnt a lot during exile.
He said that both the PPP and the PML-N had different programmes and both parties would once again contest next elections against each other but as far as democratic system was concerned, they had a similar agenda which was to protect democracy.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
