Wali refuses to discuss Shariat Bill with Sharif

Wali Khan’s wife and Awami National Party ‘s provincial unit chief, Begum Nasim Wali Khan, while confirming that they had been informed about the proposed visit said they had refused to meet Sharif.

“Obviously, we were approached and a helipad was being prepared at Wali Bagh. But we said that there will be no meeting,” Begum Nasim Wali Khan was quoted as saying by The News today

.She further said there was no meeting on the card and wondered, “what purpose would Wali-Nawaz meeting serve when the PML leadership had directed allits guns and crossed all limits of moral decency in bashing the Awami National Party leaders”.

Media reports said that almost all arrangements had been made for the Prime Minister’s proposed visit to the area as all the intelligence and security agencies had been alerted.

But the local press corps including a crew of Pakistan TV had to return disappointed after a nearly five hours wait at the helipad for Sharif’s arrival.

Ajmal Khattak, the national president of Awami National Party said in Islamabad yesterday, “We have commitment with the nationalist parties not to negotiate with the government. That is why we refused to entertain him (Sharif) when he contacted us.”

Khattak was speaking at a nationalist conference where he along with other ethnic parties were chalking out strategies to counter the dominance of Punjab province in Pakistan.

This was the second failed attempt in as many days by Sharif to win support for his Islamisation Bill which has run into rough weather both inside andoutside the Parliament since its announcement on August 28.

On Thursday, Sharif had flown to Baluchistan capital, Quetta to meet the Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti of Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) for support on the Bill. Akbar Bugti refused to support the 15th amendment thus making Sharif return empty-handed from Quetta which prompted him to head towards Frontier province to win the support of Pathans, media reports said.

Almost all the Opposition parties in Parliament have resolved to oppose the 15th amendment while a number of ruling party parliamentarians also have come out in open against the Islamisation Bill.

Iran recalls envoys

Iran has recalled its diplomats from Pakistan because of fears for their safety, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said today. The move was the latest deterioration in relations between the two neighbours, who have been competing for influence in Afghanistan.

“There have been many assassinations in Pakistan in the past few months and a number of Iraniansserving in Pakistan have been killed,” Kharrazi told the official state-run Teheran Radio upon his return from a session at the United Nations in New York.