ISLAMABAD, 16 May 2005 — Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has called for a crucial meeting of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) today at the president house in the backdrop of simmering differences in the party.
Musharraf called the session on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML sources said.
PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain would be briefing Musharraf about the important issues relating to the party’s central executive committee meeting.
The PML yesterday reposed trust in the leadership of its chief Shujaat and ruled out any change in its leadership or in the government.
“We are united and will stand united... Shujaat Hussain is our leader and party boss...the party is active under his leadership,” declared Aziz, a thought that was echoed by a number of speakers during a five-hour meeting of the PML’s Central Executive Committee here Saturday.
However, the absence of former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali cast a shadow over the conclave.
“Despite efforts by the prime minister and Shujaat, Jamali declined to attend the meeting,” The News reported yesterday.
Shujaat, however, put up a brave face.
“Our opponents have failed in their endeavor to create a crisis in the party,” he told reporters after the meeting.
According to Shujaat, there was no dictatorship in the party and every member was free to express their views.
The reference was to a statement Friday by Jamali in which he emphasized the need for “ending dictatorship in PML”, saying the party should be run on democratic lines.
“The party lacks democratic practices. It should be run with consultation rather than individual decisions,” Jamali had maintained.
Jamali is engaged in a bitter feud with Shujaat on the manner in which he was eased out 20 months after becoming prime minister after the October 2002 general elections. Shujaat, who succeeded him, stepped down after 45 days to make way for Aziz.
It is widely believed President Pervez Musharraf orchestrated the moves to signal who was in real control of the party.
PML insiders say Jamali has sought a meeting with a troika referred to as the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, after the region of Pakistani Punjab they hail from, to clear the air.
The troika, which is in effective control of the party with Musharraf’s blessings, comprises Shujaat Hussain, his parliamentarian brother Wajahat Hussain, and Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi.
“Jamali wants to meet the three Chaudhrys to inquire from them as to why he was forced into a situation where he stepped down as prime minister,” The News Saturday quoted a PML member as saying. Shujaat, quite naturally, is shying away from such a meeting.
Meanwhile, a lawyer has objected to plans to print Musharraf’s image on notes of Rs.5,000 denomination and threatened to move the court if the move is not scrapped.
M.D. Tahir has written to Musharraf, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Ishrat Hussain and Parliament Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain to prevent printing of the president’s image on the country’s currency note of the largest denomination, reports Online news agency.
