The news announcement for the commencement of the 42nd session of the National Assembly on Monday was a hurried one. In fact, the Assembly Secretariat issued the official summons signed by the Acting President only on Saturday afternoon. It was a hurried summons for many reasons.
Someone said the Speaker knew of the expected meeting between the PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf otherwise why would he sign the summons order after five on Friday, because, only a few days ago, the press published a report saying that no one is expecting a National Assembly session within the next few days.
Only on Friday evening, MNA Hazar Khan Bijarani from Jacobabad asked the NA secretary about the date for the next session, and the latter feigned ignorance. Many people at the Parliament on Saturday were in a quandary about the meeting between the two leaders that was widely reported on Friday, including by Reuters, even though the face-to-face meeting had been denied.
There is still a lot of confusion over the happenings in the country since the last Assembly session, ending last week of June. The 42nd session is expected to draw up a lot of heat and perhaps re-alignment in the opposition parties who announced a combined action during the last session. The question is whether that would hold after the meeting between President Musharraf and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
Does not mean the PML-Q is intact. Parliamentary Secretary Firadus Ashiq Awan just moved away to the PPP a few days ago, and was subject to some difficulties thereafter.
Talking to journalists at the Parliament House on Saturday, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durranni did not deny and he was non-committal. He said he would let the journalists know after asking the President.
Nothing about it has been heard from PPP sources. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan reported speaking to Farhatullah Babar and Sherry Rahman (in Scotland, according to her aide) but find no confirmation. MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali was still waiting for confirmation and said he would seek a report from the PPP in view of the expected meeting of the combined parties who attended the Multiple Parties Conference (MPC) in London. News channels reported that the matter has advanced from complete denial for lack of knowledge.
Since then, the chief justice was back in office, an assault was mounted on the Lal Masjid, the Americans threatened incursion on Pakistan tribal areas and political parties in the country appear fragmented in spite of declaring that they had reached (artificial) amity that Nawaz Sharif claimed in the Multiple Party Conference at London. Maulana Fazlur Rahman nearly wrecked the MPC, and Benazir stayed away from it, thus dividing the ARD.
A parliamentary source said the Assembly session was probably advanced in view of the President's expected face-to-face meeting with PPP's chairperson. By the way, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani is still quiet on this issue. On inquiry, a parliamentary source confided that the meeting could have materialised, and he expected the next session to devote itself to making revision in the two years' rider for government officers, and the uniform issue.
This checked out after TV channel reported from Dubai that the meeting between the PPP leader and the President did not end in a deadlock, as mistakenly reported.
Instead, the two reviewed five points. Benazir wanted these issues finalised by August 31 before she started on her party's election campaign. Meanwhile, the NA Secretariat has received a number of adjournment motions on the Aabpara gory incident and the Lal Masjid. The Secretariat is also not issuing a production order. However, it was also learnt that the Secretariat is not taking up reports of standing committees about Ordinances issued by the President from time to time.
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