KARACHI, 26 June — The two main political parties of the country yesterday rejected government overtures to build consensus on all the contentious issues to be taken up with India’s Prime Minister Atal Behari Vaypayee at next month’s summit in Agra and Delhi.
This is probably the first time in Pakistan’s checkered history that political parties have shied away from a consensus- building exercise ahead of any important dialogue with India. Both Ayub Khan and Z. A. Bhutto — men who had irreconcilable differences with other politicians when they were in power — sought and received input from opposition politicians before they went into talks with their Indian counterparts.
A senior leader of the Muslim League said yesterday that his party would convince other component parties of the 18-party conglomerate Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) to boycott the scheduled talks with Pervez Musharraf in response to his action of assuming the office of president.
The People’s Party ruled out any dialogue with Musharraf ever since his government convicted its party chief Benazir Bhutto on charges of corruption and misrule. Politicians representing smaller parties also appear reluctant to meet with the president.
Last week the Muslim League and the People’s Party clamored vociferously about their opposition to the June 27 invitation extended by President Musharraf to its leaders along with those of other political groups. Leaders of the two parties also questioned the motives of the roundtable called by President Musharraf. Yet officially the two parties stopped short of announcing a boycott of the event.
This is because the two parties do not wish to annoy the ARD.
The alliance chief, Nawabzada Nasrullah, sought to water down the PPP’s and PML’s anger and antagonism toward the newly installed president. Nasrullah denied that these two parties were preparing to snub the president.
“The news about the PML(N) and the PPP’s refusal to meet Musharraf are mere rumors,” he told reporters in Lahore. His multiparty grouping would, in fact, take a decision on the matter at a political powwow scheduled a day before the roundtable with Musharraf, he said. Nisar Khuhro, a senior PPP leader, said yesterday that the alliance would review the political situation in the country, hinting that a final decision on boycotting or attending the event would be taken the same day.
