This is an interesting development. I think political reconciliation is need of the hour to prevent things from going totally out of control.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=12238
Shahbaz meets president’s aide today
By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
ISLAMABAD: In a significant political development President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif will have an important meeting with President Pervez Musharraf’s close aide and former instructor Brigadier (retd) Niaz Ahmad here in Islamabad today (Saturday).
Brigadier Niaz Ahmad had been playing the role of envoy to President Pervez Musharraf in interacting with the Sharif brothers in recent months first in London and lately in Saudi Arabia. The PML-N president has come to the federal capital for the purpose and the meeting is expected to help reduce tension between the presidential camp and its arch critic, the PML-N leadership.
It would be Shahbaz Sharif’s third meeting with the brigadier after the Sharif family returned home from exile. The brigadier had been playing the role of go between former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Pervez Musharraf.
Political observers are not ruling out a breakthrough between President Pervez Musharraf and Shahbaz Sharif within a day or two sequel to the meeting. Nawaz Sharif had expressed his willingness to meet the president conditionally early this week. He put the restoration of superior judiciary as the lone condition for such a meeting.
Highly placed sources told The News Friday evening that PML-N is inclined to play a positive role in reducing the prevailing tension in the country so that polls could be held in a free atmosphere where the president would not feel any hesitation to hand over power to any party that could win the majority vote.
The meeting would be a landmark occasion in view of the upcoming elections which are less than five weeks away. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has already softened its tone towards the administration to smoothen the atmosphere and concentrating on electioneering, the sources pointed out. It appears that all the stakeholders are in a reconciliation mood in the interest of holding the polls in a peaceful manner.
The emanating threats to the country’s nuclear programme and increasing suicide bombings that has hurt the social and economic fibre of the country are proving the source of motivation for the major political parties to help lower political temperature so that the enemy does not take advantage of the situation.
President Pervez Musharraf is also following the path of reconciliation and his Thursday interview with a Singapore newspaper to hint at resigning if an impeachment motion was moved against him in the Parliament after the polls, is believed to be an expression of change of his mind.
Brigadier Niaz Ahmad is the one who worked out details for return of the Sharif family to Pakistan in November last year. He assisted the team of the Presidential camp first in London and then in Jeddah for making their return smooth, the sources said.
The president’s former Chief of Staff General Hamid Javed led the Presidential team in the initial talks. The sources said that President Pervez Musharraf had marathon meetings with Brigadier Niaz Ahmad in Rawalpindi this week where vital national interests, especially the precarious security situation came up for discussion.
The brigadier is widely respected in the army as he has taught almost every general currently sitting at the helm of affairs in the GHQ. He is in his late 80s and has unblemished record during the service of armed forces of Pakistan. He resigned on April 10, 1977 in Lahore when he was commanding the troops and martial law was imposed. He was ordered to fire at the people protesting against the government but instead of shooting at the innocent people he opted to resign there and then.
In an exclusive chat with The News, Brigadier Niaz Ahmad said Friday evening that he has received a call from Shahbaz Sharif, who will be visiting him on Saturday. “I have no political ambition. I wish to serve my country that need healing handling. Every one of us must play our role at this critical juncture,” the brigadier said in a sentimental tone.
Brigadier Niaz has planned to leave for London tomorrow on a private visit. If there is any follow up meeting at a different level, it would take place before his departure for the UK, the sources opined.
Interestingly, Nawaz Sharif is also in the proximity of the federal capital and Shahbaz will report to him immediately after the meeting. The Sharif brothers will evolve some strategy after the meeting today. They will also have consultations with their political allies and party leaders for any further action, the sources added.