Zardari weighing options to save coalition

ISLAMABAD - PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday night called Leader of the House in Senate Senator Raza Rabbani to Zardari House and both leaders had a well over two hours post-dinner meeting to review the political situation in the country in the backdrop of the impasse over the deposed judges issue with PML(N).

Senator Raza Rabbani was among the PPP leaders, who wanted restoration of the deposed judges through an executive order.

Sources privy to the political developments and the series of meetings held at Zardari House disclosed to TheNation that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was consulting with the party leadership having different viewpoint on judges issue and meeting with Senator Raza Rabbani was part of that exercise.

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had already called the meeting of party leadership and the Federal Cabinet members at Zardari House today (Monday) to take stock of the prevailing political scenario in the country and to develop some consensus view to deal with the PML(N) leadership in the Tuesday's meeting also due to be arranged at Zardari House.

On the other hand, PML(N) Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif had called the joint meeting of their Parliamentary Party and Central Working Committee at his Riwind residence before going into, what political observers termed a make or break, talks with PPP.

The sources in PPP disclosed that in Monday meeting, PPP leadership would discuss ways and means to tackle with the expected fallout of the meeting with Mian Nawaz Sharif so that the system could be saved from derailing.

These sources said that it was the earnest desire of the PPP co-chairman that the coalition should be kept united and he would go an extra mile to convince the PML(N) Quaid to remain part of the alliance and support them in bringing constitutional package to not only reform the judicial system in the country but swing the balance of power in favour of prime minister.

The PPP leadership was of the view that restoration of judges through an executive order could put the government in awkward position in case the executive order was challenged in the apex courts having the handpicked judges of President Musharraf.

To avoid this situation, PPP had come out with a constitutional package to reinstate the judges without getting into confrontation with establishment.

The sources were of the view that PPP would not likely concede ground on the judges issue and would try to convince the PML(N) leadership to give them time to go about the restoration of judges through constitutional means.

These sources further disclosed that PPP was not much optimistic about the success of the Tuesday parlays with PML(N) and that was the reason they were working out plan to deal with the worst situation in case of failure of talks.