Challenges faced by country: Mushahid for broad-based consensus

Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed on Monday called for a broad-based consensus among all political parties for a joint strategy to cope with looming challenges like energy, education and terrorism, saying that no single party could take out the country from the prevailing crises.
Addressing a joint press conference here at the PML House with MNA Marvi Memon, Deputy Secretary Information Ghulam Mustafa Malik and Vice President Ajmal Khan Wazir, Mushahid said the government should take initiatives and the political leadership should rise above the petty interests to devise a joint strategy for economic uplift. He urged the government to take all the decisions in the parliament, adding that the Majlis-e-Shura is not meant for only "sit, talk and disperse."
"The government's incompetence, lack of commitment can be judged from the fact that though the Census 2011 has been launched with tall claims, the Census Commissioner for Sindh Province was appointed just three days back. The government had appointed 16,000 enumerators to conduct census in year 1998, while the incumbent government has only appointed 8000 for census 2011," he said.
He said that the government only depends on rhetoric without action and the performance of the Sindh government was evident from the fact that 87 people had been reportedly kidnapped in the province. One lakh out of five lakh Watan Cards released for flood affectees were fake, he added. He said Sindh government was victimising the opponents, which was a source of concern for his party. He said his party leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and a high level delegation would visit Sindh from May 8 to reorganise his party.
He said his party was not providing oxygen to the government, as it was seeking help to save the system. Responding to a query, Mushahid Hussain said his party was working to form a third force in alliance with other political parties to give his countrymen a choice to go for a new government as the PPP and the PML-N were already governing in the center and the Punjab province.
"Is it not our triumph that those who labelled the PML as "Qatil League" are now seeking our help? The investigations have exonerated us and now everybody seek our help. Our candidates are winning by-polls from across country and the popularity of the PML is rising by each passing day," he added. He said the doors of his party were open as they believed in the politics of dialogue. He said his party stood by the Young Doctors' Association (YDA) and the lady health workers (LHW) in their demands, which reflected an issue-based political course adopted by his party.
He said he would soon visit Sindh and would also go to remote areas of Sindh as Sindhi people wanted to join his party. Marvi Memon unveiled her party's 11-point heavy agenda for the National Assembly's session starting from Monday, saying that the political victimisation, cases against her and the protesting Lady Health Workers (LHWs) would be taken up in the session through an adjournment motion by her party along with hike in petroleum products prices, increase in suicide attacks and HEC dissolution. She said the government would be asked whether it had permitted the US drone strikes on Pakistani soil or not. If not, then discussion on retaliation permission to be given to armed forces.
"Pakistan's relations with India including regional co-ordination efforts despite Kashmir and water security issues, corruption and worsening public sector organisation balance sheets, census preparedness, executive's conflict with judiciary and subsequent political destabilisation, and law & order situation across country would also be taken up," she added.