PPP calls party meeting for consultation prior to APC on Balochistan

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Meeting will discuss grievances of Baloch people
* PPP decides not to field candidates against Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday advised Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to convene a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) meeting on Balochistan prior to holding an all-parties conference (APC) on the matter.

The meeting would discuss the grievances of the Baloch people and mull recommendations for resolving outstanding issues.

Briefing the media on the meeting between Zardari and Gilani, president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the PPP meeting would be convened by the prime minister in his capacity of the PPP vice chairman. The PPP meeting would serve as a prelude to the all-parties conference (APC) on Balochistan, which Gilani would convene later, he said.

The president told Gilani that issues faced by Balochistan could no longer be ignored and it was essential that a broad-based national consensus were achieved for settling the province’s grievances, Babar said.

The spokesman said Zardari had also advised the Balochistan Assembly to adopt unanimous resolutions and forward them to parliament, which in turn would re-endorse the suggestions for devising the way forward on the matter. Babar said the prime minister apprised the president about the rehabilitation efforts being undertaken for the internally displaced persons.

Candidates: Meanwhile, APP reported that the PPP had decided not to field candidates on any seat against the PML-N’s Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, after the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed them eligible to contest elections and hold public office.

The decision was made in the meeting between Zardari and Gilani, and was a gesture of reconciliation and respect for each party’s mandate, the agency quoted its sources as saying. staff report/app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg7_1