PML, PPP stay away, all-party meet a tame affair

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 27. The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, today secured the endorsement of representatives of political and religious parties on his coming visit to India.

The all-party meeting convened by Gen. Musharraf - as part of an exercise to ascertain the views of various sections on the summit meeting - lost much of its sheen as the two main parties, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), chose to stay away.

The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), of which both the PML and the PPP are constituents, had decided at a meeting at Lahore on Tuesday to boycott the meet to protest the manner in which Gen. Musharraf had taken over as President and also the curbs imposed by the military government on political parties.

Unlike Tuesday, where at the interactive session with Editors Gen. Musharraf made a number of observations on his coming visit, today he chose to be brief in his comments. He told the political leaders that the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, has invited him for a dialogue and that Kashmir would be the focus of his talks.

He heard the views of the 20 leaders who attended - 24 were invited for the meet - and is believed to have taken extensive notes. Among those who did not turn up were the ARD chairman, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, and two PPP leaders.

With the leaders opposed to the military government staying away, the all-party conference was a tame affair. No questions were raised on the controversy centered on the assumption of office of President by Gen. Musharraf last week.

Former test cricketer-turned-politician, Mr. Imran Khan, who attended the meeting, at a news conference criticised PML and PPP for not being present. He said the normalisation of Indo-Pak. relations and resolution of the Kashmir conflict were national issues and all support should be lent to Gen. Musharraf in this endeavour.

Gen. Musharraf assured the leaders that he would take them along on all national issues in the interest of the country. He was quoted as saying that he was ``encouraged by their sense of patriotism and commitment to the cause of the Kashmiri people''. It was his belief that they were all ``on board the same ship and loved their country in equal manner''.

On Thursday, Gen. Musharraf is slated to meet representatives of political parties and other groups from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This would mark the completion of his present exercise.

He has also summoned a special session of the PoK Council, in his capacity as its Chairman, to discuss the issue. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. in the Cabinet room of the Chief Executive's Secretariat. It will be attended by the PoK President, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, and the Prime Minister, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, as Vice-Chairman and Member of the PoK Council respectively.

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