New political deal worked out, Zardari to be asked to accept or,,,

[Naveed Yaseen]

English version of same news:
Gilani has 24 hours to break deadlock; Washington, London, establishment ask PM to convince Zardari

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: A new political deal, backed by Washington, London and the establishment, has quietly been conveyed to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to bring down the political temperature, well-placed sources confided to The News on Thursday.

As part of the deal, the prime minister has been asked to immediately convince beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari to demonstrate the flexibility required to break the present deadlock before the long march could reach Islamabad.

Gilani has reportedly been given 24 hours to convince Zardari into agreeing to the new political and constitutional arrangement, as further delay will not produce any positive results for the political forces currently on the warpath.

After several rounds of talks with the key political players, officials disclosed, the US ambassador and the UK high commissioner to Pakistan came up with a new formula to bring the perilous situation under control. Gilani was tasked with taking Zardari into confidence on the salient features of the accord.

The Punjab governor would be a likely casualty of the deal, one insider disclosed, suggesting that Salmaan Taseer might be shown the door. Just like Zardari, Taseer is seen as a major hurdle to normalisation of the working relationship between the PPP and the PML-N.

The ball is now firmly in the court of President Zardari, who has to take a decision swiftly on endorsing the agreement brokered by powerful international actors. The Army will act as a guarantor of the fresh arrangementís success, according to knowledgeable quarters.

Sources claimed that Gilani, the Army chief, the Americans and the British were in favour of the new political pact, which may be accepted or rejected by Zardari, whose fate will largely depend on his decision.

A new constitutional package would be part of the deal between the PPP and the PML-N. Major irritants will be removed through parliament, with the Americans still favouring the political order in place in Islamabad and Lahore as a result of the last yearís general election.

Expected to be implemented in the next 48 hours after a Gilani-Zardari meeting, the new initiative includes restoration of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Although, there has been no meeting between Gilani and Zardari since the presidentís return from Iran early Thursday morning, the two leaders are said to have talked on telephone.

A meeting between the president and the PM — as and when it takes place — will determine the fate of the deal. Should the president spurn the plan, the situation may get worse and the ëpowers involvedí will be left with no option but the ëminus-one formulaí to save the system.

Background interviews with top-level officials revealed that the PML-N would be given a fair chance to form its government in the Punjab by bringing in a new face in place of Shahbaz Sharif.

Sources said Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told the prime minister at Thursdayís meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, to get the new arrangements through within 48 hours. In the light of his deliberations with Kayani, the PM will hold the decisive round of talks with the president.

A constitutional committee is said to be part of the deal to be inked between the government and the PML-N, which may also submit a new package of reforms in line with the Charter of Democracy. The condition barring the election of a prime minister or a chief minister for a third term will also go.

One proposal to break the deadlock on the judgesí issue is to revive the old proposal of two chief justices — one dealing with the legal side of the Supreme Court and the other with the constitutional side.

Justice Sardar Raza and Iftikhar Chaudhry will likely hold these positions. An official familiar with the latest developments said that the top military leadership was of the view that the time had come to ìmarginaliseî the president. Certain measures were needed to create a balance of power, he added.

General Kayani reportedly asked Gilani to have a straight talk with the president so as to defuse the explosive situation. Gilani agreed to the new arrangement and dropped a clear hint at an early understanding between the warring political forces.

The sources divulged that as the back-channel contacts between Zardari and Nawaz were still open, Shujaat Hussain rejected on Thursday the idea of his party fielding a candidate for the Senate chairman against the PPP nominee Farooq H Naek. Two PML-Q Senators — Salim Saifullah and Jamal Leghari — were ready to contest the election but Shujaat informed them that he was busy in negotiating a secret deal with Zardari on forming a coalition government in the Punjab and any Senate contest might jeopardise the plan.

Himself eyeing the slot, Shujaat rejected Salim Saifullahís demand to make him the opposition leader in the Upper House. Former president Farooq Leghari had desperately tried to stop Shujaat from letting Naek become the new Senate chairman without a contest.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=20881