Monday, April 7, 2014

Zardari invites PPAJK lawmakers for a crucial session in Karachi

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


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