Share your thoughts! I am not how much this “independent commission” can be trusted. I think it really depends on who is part of management of this commission. *
ISLAMABAD: The readiness with which the government and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif came together on Saturday and announced the setting up of an independent body for supervising relief and rehabilitation process in the flood-hit areas took everyone by surprise.
For the past two weeks as the country tried to deal with the havoc wreaked by the floods, the two main political parties had taken their on-again off-again relationship to new heights. Both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders did not miss out a single opportunity to hit out at the PPP’s ‘failure’ to help the flood victims.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who was abroad till last week came under harsh attacks for undertaking a foreign trip at a time when the people were suffering. The rhetoric from the PPP also appeared to become harsher.
Prime Minister Gilani in interactions with the media criticised Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for making unreasonable financial demands on the federal governments while the usual PML-N bashers such as Law Minister Babar Awan and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer were in the forefront of those criticising the Sharif brothers in public statements. Mr Awan went to the extent of alleging that the opposition’s propaganda campaign hindered the flow of foreign assistance to the country.
Against this backdrop, the phone call between the prime minister and Sharif senior which led to Saturday’s meeting and the press conference that followed was surprising to say the least.
Dawn has learnt, however, that the PML-N itself is the most surprised at the readiness with which the PPP accepted its proposals.
Apparently, Mr Nawaz Sharif had the proposals ready when he spoke to Mr Gilani on the phone a couple of days back; the PMLN planned to make them public after the meeting regardless of the government’s reaction. This is why the media managers of the PML-N had already invited the reporters for a news conference of Mr Sharif at the spacious Punjab House at 3pm after his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Gilani to disclose the details of the proposals.
However, this was cancelled once Mr Sharif accepted the prime minister’s request for a joint press conference at the PM House to announce the agreed points.
“We were expecting that the prime minister would seek one or two days to respond to our proposals. Therefore, we had planned to release our recommendations to the media through a news conference,” a source in the PML-N who was associated with all the arrangements told Dawn.
As usual it is a bit difficult to comprehend the reasons for the PPP government falling in line so readily with the PML-N plans to establish a new fund especially as the prime minister had only announced his relief fund for flood victims some two weeks back.
Political experts believe that the government may have been motivated by the poor response of people and the international community to the call for donations.
Many analysts had linked this to the government’s trust-deficit and the negative coverage of Mr Zardari during his recent trip to Britain. It is being said that this may have compelled the rulers to accept Mr Sharif’s proposals in the hope that a united stand may sound more promising to foreign donors, especially some of the wealthier Gulf states.
Apart from the establishment of an independent body, the sources said, the PML-N has also put a condition before the government that the latter must first transfer at least Rs250 billion from the national kitty to the funds before seeking donations from others.
In addition, the sources said, PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar has prepared a comprehensive plan suggesting various measures to the government for carrying out relief and rehabilitation process in the flood-hit areas. This plan was handed over to the government during the meeting with the prime minister. According to Mr Dar, by acting on the plan the government could generate Rs250 billion immediately — by slashing the ongoing development projects, particularly in the infrastructure sector.
They said the PML-N had suggested the name “National Rehabilitation Commission” for the independent body, expected to be set up in the next couple of days.
In addition, to reinforce the spirit of cooperation that both leaders professed to be driven by, Mr Gilani and Mr Sharif once again stopped their members from issuing statements against each other.
Though the two sides demonstrated surprising bonhomie during the press conference, political observers are watching this development cautiously. Having witnessed the love-and-hate relationship between the two parties for the past three years or so, they are not sure how long the current phase of reconciliation will last.