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| India-Pakistan |
| Nawaz laments broken Zardari promises; PML-N to sit on opposition benches |
| 2008-08-27 |
| The ruling coalition has fallen apart within a week of Pervez Musharraf's resignation as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Monday formally announced its decision to sit on the opposition benches in parliament, thus ending its six-month-old tenuous alliance with the Pakistan People's Party. "After long deliberations with the Central Working Committee (CWC) and the parliamentary party, I announce with a heavy heart to part ways with the PPP," said PML-N leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif while addressing a crowded press conference here at the Punjab House. Nawaz Sharif said the PML-N after going to the last limit and seeing no further ray of hope decided to end its coalition with the PPP. "We were rather forced by the attitude of our major coalition partner to end our coalition and sit on the opposition benches," said Nawaz Sharif who was flanked by party President Shahbaz Sharif and other central leaders. Nawaz Sharif said when written agreements are violated there remains no trust and when there is no trust, there is no use of remaining in a coalition. "It was very painful for me that the agreements reached with us were violated thrice," Nawaz Sharif lamented. The PML-N leader showed to the media the two-page written agreement with PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, which was signed on August 7, 2008 in Islamabad. Sharif said both pages of the agreement, according to which resolution was to be submitted in the National Assembly to restore the judges to the November 2, 2007 position within 24 hours of the impeachment or resignation of Pervez Musharraf, bear his and Zardari's signatures. Reading out the agreement, Nawaz Sharif said according to a clause of the agreement, it was agreed that in pursuance of the Murree Declaration, both parties had decided that an executive order would be issued instantly upon passing the resolution by the National Assembly. He said transfer of official protocol to the chief justice of the Supreme Court and chief justices of high courts was to be made instantly with the issuance of an executive order. Nawaz Sharif said the PPP leadership had also agreed to evolve a consensus amongst coalition partners on the name of new president. According to the agreement, Nawaz Sharif said, it was agreed that in case the office of the president retained the powers acquired under the 17th Amendment, a nationally respected, non-partisan and pro-democracy figure acceptable to coalition partners would be put forward as a consensus candidate for the office of the president. He said it was also agreed that in case the 17th Amendment was repealed and the powers of the president were restricted to those enshrined in the original 1973 Constitution then the PPP would have the right to put forward its own candidate. Recalling details of the agreements with Asif Ali Zardari, the PML-N leader said the two parties signed the Murree Declaration on March 9, 2008 according to which the deposed judges were to be restored to the November 2, 2007 position within 30 days of the formation of coalition government. "We also assured Mr Zardari of demanding no ministries in the cabinet but, on his insistence, the PML-N took the bitter pill of its ministers having been sworn in by Pervez Musharraf," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |