‘Peace pact signed in consultation with president’

[LahoreEstate]

* Haji Adeel says PPP’s federal minister Najamuddin Khan attended ceremony

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Awami National Party’s (ANP) provincial government has inked a peace agreement with the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) after taking President Asif Ali Zardari into confidence, the party said on Monday.

Talking to Daily Times, ANP leader in the Senate Haji Adeel said the peace agreement was signed with the TNSM after a series of meetings between President Zardari and ANP chief Asfandyar Wali. “How can we sign the peace agreement with the TNSM without the support of the federal government,” he said, adding that Pakistan People’s Party senior leader and federal minister Najamuddin Khan was present during the ceremony.

Adeel criticised Information Minister Sherry Rehman’s statement that the president had not given his assent to the agreement yet. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) welcomed the peace agreement and said a similar approach should be adopted to resolve the judicial crisis in the country. PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said restoration of the sacked judiciary was as important for the country as signing a peace agreement with the Taliban. PML-Quaid Information Secretary Tariq Azeem said it was yet to be seen whether the agreement is implemented in letter and spirit, as many such agreements were not adhered to in the past.

He said the PML-Q believed that if the issues could be resolved through negotiations then that was the preferred route. Azeem said any agreement that brought peace in the area and helped in rehabilitation of the displaced civilians would be welcomed by the former ruling party. However, the civil society showed a mixed reaction to the development, saying the government was “making joke of the situation” by giving conflicting statements on the peace deal.

Renowned analyst Shereen Mazari said if the PPP government believed in democracy, it should allow the provincial governments to take important decisions regarding law and order in their provinces. She said the statement by the information minister that the president would not give his assent to the agreement unless peace was restored in the area was contradictory to the ANP government’s statement.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_38