Pakistan PM, Sharif call for reconciliation

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif called for reconciliation to end Pakistan’s political crisis but stopped short Sunday of announcing concrete agreements.

The thaw in their icy ties came after their first meeting since the supreme court disqualified Sharif from contesting elections, sparking a showdown that pushed the nuclear-armed nation to the brink of chaos. They met as the government reinstated top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, two years after he was sacked under emergency rule, in a significant climbdown bowing to demands from Sharif who whipped up mass protests.

“I came to meet Mr. Nawaz Sharif with an olive branch from the government, with a message from President Asif Ali Zardari that the situation demands greater reconciliation because Pakistan faces great challenges,” Gilani said. The premier travelled to Sharif’s country estate Raiwind in Punjab, the country’s most important province which controls 60 percent of the seats in parliament and where Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) is dominant.

“We want reconciliation. Nawaz Sharif has responded positively and I thank him,” Gilani told a joint news conference with the PML-N chairman.

The government and Sharif have been at loggerheads ever since the PML-N walked out of the national unity coalition last August over Zardari’s refusal to reinstate Chaudhry and enact other key reforms.

Their rivalry escalated when the supreme court on February 25 disqualified Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections and holding public office.

Raiwind, Monday, AFP