President ready to forego powers

ISLAMABAD President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the Government to possibly address the reservations of PML-N on the constitutional reform process so that the nation could witness this landmark accomplishment of restoring the Constitution. According to well-placed sources, the President was talking to his close aides including some ministers, party office bearers, and personal friends at the Presidency. The President had sought advice from his associates after the PML-N U-turn the other day that sabotaged the governments plans to table the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill this week. The sources claimed the President denounced the impression that he was happy over this hurdle in the way of reforms that practically delayed transfer of powers from him to the Prime Minister. The President was to forego everything he has for strengthening the democratic values in the country, a source that attended the meeting told this scribe. According to the sources, the President observed that he as well as his party had fulfilled the promise to finalise the draft of the Constitutional Amendment Bill by March 2010. And now the ball is in the court of the PML-N, the sources quoted the President adding, the PPP would try its level best to carry on the reform process as a collective responsibility of all political forces in the country. Commenting about the issue of credit going to the PPP for historic Constitutional Amendment, the President remarked that the credit would go to all political and democratic forces in the country. Since the parliamentary committee includes members from all parties in the Parliament, it hardly remains a solo venture of the PPP, notwithstanding, its position of the incumbent ruling party, the source quoted the President as saying. President was ready once again even to meet PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif, in case the difference of opinion on certain matters persists beyond a reasonable period of time, they added.

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