Online News Paper

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif on Friday re-affianced resolve to remove undemocratic clauses from the constitution inserted by successive dictatorships without reference to the will of the people.
In a joint statement issued after a marathon meeting between the two leaders at Raiwind, the two sides reiterated commitment to the principles laid down in the Charter of Democracy, “to democratize the constitution and rid it of all undemocratic clauses including 17th amendment.”
The meeting was held after the two leaders’ telephonic talk on Monday during which they agreed to meet soon.
They expressed the hope that the parliamentary committee set up to review the constitution will complete its task in the shortest possible time and propose suitable amendments in it.
During the meeting the two sides were of the view that the situation in Balochistan needed to be addressed urgently and seriously.
“Political dialogue and development of the province should be pressed into service to remove the sense of alienation of the people of the province,” the statement added.
They expressed the view that the parliament should play a more proactive role in visibly meeting the aspiration of the people of Balochistan.
Both sides agreed that the problems faced by the country were too stupendous to be resolved by any one political party or state and required the collective efforts of all political forces and parties.
The two parties agreed that dialogue and discussions were the essence of the democratic process and that the doors to meaningful and result oriented dialogue should always remain open.
They also discussed law and order situation in the country and confirmed that militancy posed the most serious threat to national security and that a holistic approach was needed to address the issue.
“They agreed that militants should not be allowed to impose their agenda on the people through guns and bullets,” the statement said.
President Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif agreed that more of such contacts and meetings will help push forward the process of democratization of the constitution in light of CoD.
They were of the view that such meetings will also help find solution to problems like national security, economic and energy crisis, price hike and unemployment compounded by the military dictatorship.