The parliamentary party of ruling Peoples
Party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will be holding a crucial sitting with
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi on Tuesday, deliberations at
which will determine the fate of AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, it
is believed.
The meeting is being held in the wake of mounting
tensions in the ranks of the 31-member ruling parliamentary party in AJK, which
includes 2 MQM lawmakers, as well as former prime minister Barrister Sultan
Mahmood, who has long been campaigning for Mr Majee’s ouster, citing his
alleged corruption.
However, for some time Mr Mahmood feels energised
following open expression of disagreement by some cabinet members with Mr
Majeed on the one hand and contacts by the confidants of party’s central
leadership with him on the other.
Mr Mahmood and his lawmaker cousin, Chaudhry Arshad
Hussain, are not attending Tuesday’s meeting and, according to sources close to
them, might separately call on Mr Zardari on Wednesday.
The MQM lawmakers have not been invited for the Tuesday’s
meeting.
It may be recalled that 12 members of ruling
parliamentary party had stayed away from the special joint session of AJK
assembly and AJK council, held to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5, to
express their differences with premier Majeed, even though the event was
addressed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The angry group has been lobbying for replacement of Mr
Majeed and many of its members had conveyed their feelings to Ms Faryal Talpur
MNA, who supervises the affairs of Peoples Party and its government in AJK.
Ms Talpur, who was said to be having a soft corner for
Mr Majeed, had however reportedly asked some of the rebels to express their
concerns openly in the parliamentary party meeting instead of individually putting
over to her.
Earlier, Ms Talpur was supposed to chair the
parliamentary party meeting. However, following the alleged intervention by two
former federal ministers from PPP, Mr Zardari had decided to preside over the
session himself and to get firsthand account of AJK legislators, sources said.
“The disagreement simmering for long in the AJK
government may boil over on Tuesday in the presence of Mr Zardari,” claimed a
source in PPAJK.
The anti-Majeed camp was optimistic that Mr Zardari
would seal the fate of Mr Majeed after extracting information from the
parliamentary party on governance related issues, party’s performance over the
last two and a half years and its standing in the masses.
However, independent sources were of the view that it
was highly unlikely that any decision, whether against or in favour of Mr
Majeed, would be announced by Mr Zardari on Tuesday.
On the other hand, those standing by Mr Majeed were
hopeful that the meeting would just clear the air.
“Prime Minister Majeed is not only the most loyal and
committed leader of the Peoples Party but also closely associated with the
occupied Kashmir leadership. There is no question of his removal from this
office in the middle of assembly’s term,” said his spokesman Shaukat Javed Mir.
“The meeting is primarily aimed at having an
interaction with party’s co-chairperson after a considerable gap and seeking
guidance from him on improvement of governance as well as party’s popularity
and its relationship with Islamabad in future,” he said…… Tariq Naqash
