President Asif Ali Zardari has called a roundtable conference of all political parties to address the economic challenges being faced by the country, along with important national and international issues. Sources in PPP on Tuesday told Business Recorder that the economic situation, including ''reformed ''RGST, impact of escalating petroleum prices in international market on the country and conditions of International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be discussed in the roundtable conference.
They said that the issue of Raymond Davis, which has become very critical for both countries, Pakistan and America, would also be discussed with the political parties. They said that the issue could damage bilateral relations of the two allies, especially on war against terror. For this purpose, the PPP-government would seek support of its collation partners and all opposition parties, they added.
They said that law and order situation, terrorism and ongoing military operation in tribal area would also be discussed in the conference. The PML-N has proposed 10-point agenda to the PPP for improving its economic situation and governance that would also be discussed in the conference.
Although a three-member team of the PML-N is already discussing 10-point agenda with the PPP-government, the key outcome of this discussion would be presented in the conference. For holding roundtable conference, sources said, President Asif Ali Zaradri has contacted MQM chief Altaf Hussain and PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi. Altaf Hussain welcomed the President on this initiative while Pervaiz also gave a positive response.
According to a statement issued from the presidency, the president''s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said a roundtable conference has been called so the different opinions can be shared and a collective decision can be reached. He added that the date of the conference is yet to be decided, "but we will start informing the leaders of the political parties from today-Tuesday".