Did Asif, Shahbaz reach vital understanding?

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, February 01, 2009
By Babar Dogar

LAHORE: PPP-PML-N have reached an agreement under which PML-N government will facilitate lawyers’ long march in Punjab but they will not stage a sit-in along with them at Shahrah-e-Dastoor in Islamabad, The News has learnt.

The sources privy to President House stated that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif during his meeting with President Asif Zardari, a few days ago, had agreed that PML-N government in Punjab would not join the lawyers’ community in staging sit-in at Shahrah-e-Dastoor on March 9.

It is learnt that President Asif Zardari during his meeting with the chief minister discussed the issue of lawyers’ long march and Punjab government’s act of facilitating them through using official machinery.

Sources privy to President House stated that President Zardari conveyed to the chief minister that he had no reservations on Punjab government’s decision of facilitating the long march through using official machinery and resources. Nevertheless, he plainly conveyed to the chief minister that the PPP government in the centre would not tolerate its coalition partners in Punjab to join the lawyers’ sit-in protest in Islamabad.

The sources said the president told the chief minister to restrict the movement of the PML-N leaders and workers attending long march to the limits of Rawalpindi district.

He told him that they would allow Punjab government to facilitate lawyers’ long march upto Rawalpindi and afterwards let them stage their sit-in alone. He stated that the federal government would effectively handle lawyers sit-in but the PML-N’s decision of joining lawyers’ sit-in would further aggravate political situation in the country.

Sources stated that chief minister had assured the president that PML-N would not join the lawyers’ sit-in in Islamabad. He told him that neither Punjab government nor the PML-N workers and leaders would join lawyers in Islamabad and stage a sit-in with them.

However, when contacted the official spokesperson of Punjab government while referring to CM’s adviser Pervaiz Rasheed, has stated that the issue of lawyers’ long march was not discussed with the president during chief minister’s meeting with him. He said Punjab government has nothing to do with the long march. He further stated that it was the policy of Punjab government that it would use neither its official machinery nor resources to facilitate lawyers’ community during their long march. As for the issue of CM’s assurance to president for not joining sit-in protest, he said it was the decision of the PML-N central executive committee that they would participate in the long march.

On the issue of their joining the sit-in, he said the PML-N central working committee would take decision on it.

Likewise, PML-N Central Secretary General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra stated that chief minister had not given any such assurance to the president. He said party’s central working committee would decide whether to stage a sit-in with lawyers or not.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=160184