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pakistantoday.com.pk
Vol ii no 133 116 Pages lahore edition
sunday, 6 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 9, 1432
Bring it on, PM challenges Opp g
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nawaz, Shahbaz not on same page over removing zardari g
Gilani says PPP primed to face any bid to unseat government South Punjab to become new province on public demand
LAHORE StAff REpORt
LAHORE StAff REpORt
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hAllENGING rival political parties to try if they could to topple the government, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday said the government had been hearing since 2008 that it would be removed and welcomed those trying to achieve this as it was “primed for that”. Talking to reporters following the formal inauguration of commercial operations of Pakistan’s second communication satellite Paksat-1R in lahore, the PM said all “parties were desirous of opposition though they were in the government”. Urging rivals not to say anything that may offend anyone, he said “no force can topple the government”. The PM said South Punjab would become a new province because that was the wish of the people and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would move a resolution in the Punjab Assembly for the creation of the same. The second objective behind the PPP’s decision of supporting the demand for a separate province in southern Punjab was that Punjab was too big to be controlled by one CM. he said PMl-N chief Nawaz Sharif had also supported the creation of a new province in his speech in Dera Ghazi Khan. To a question, he said when the resolution for a new province would be moved, it would become clear whether the PMl-N government actually supported the demand or not. he said a separate province was a longstanding demand of the people of southern Punjab and it would be created with the backing of the people. Continued on Page 04
Rana Sanaullah says PmL-n chief had only sanctioned rallies against corruption, not zardari
LAHORE: A prisoner hands over Eidi to his young son before being taken back to the jail from the district courts on Saturday. nadeem ijaz
india says better trade with Pakistan ‘to take some time’ NEW DELHI AgEnciES
New Delhi on Saturday played down confusion about whether Pakistan was granting India Most Favoured trading nation status, saying such a step “could take some time”. Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s cabinet announced it had approved a proposal giving India the status of “Most Favoured Nation” in a move towards normalising trade relations
between the two nuclear-armed rivals. The cabinet’s decision was seen as a breakthrough in thawing relations between the South Asian neighbours who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. But later Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was quoted by media as saying that the Commerce Ministry had only been Continued on Page 04
related story | Page 02
In a stark revelation and an apparent backtracking from its stance, the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PMl-N) on Saturday said it had nothing to do with the “Go Zardari Go” campaign because party chief Nawaz Sharif never launched any such campaign as generally believed, “instead he unleashed a plan of protest rallies against inflation, corruption and load shedding”. Denying link between the PMlN’s Bhaati Chowk rally and Imran Khan’s procession at Minar-e-Pakistan, the PMl-N turned down the impression that the PTI and PMl-N had common stance towards the Taliban, adding that Imran Khan was an agent of the establishment. “The PMl-N protest rally at Bhaati Chowk on October 28 had a big flex hoarding behind the dice which carried four slogans — load shedding, corruption, overpricing and terrorism — and this showed that the protest rally had no association with Go Zardari Go campaign,” Punjab law Minister Rana Sanaullah said in a Saama TV talk show hosted by Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami. To a question, Sana clarified that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s speech at Bhaati Chowk was a reflection of his personal opinion
about Zardari and had no relation with party policy. however, giving benefit of doubt to the CM on his derogatory words against Zardari, he said words like “Al Tahrir Square” and “hanging some people upside down” were idiomatic. “Shahbaz believes in the rule of law and used them symbolically,” he added. Citing 2008, when Nawaz Sharif and Zardari were finalising the accord of Bhurban agreement, Sana said Nawaz sought Shahbaz’s point of view about Zardari through a paper chit and Shahbaz termed Zardari a liar and not trustworthy even then. however, the law minister said Nawaz hammered the deal to save the system. Continued on Page 04