Islamabad, February 21: A reconstituted smaller cabinet of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be up against big issues in the National Assembly that meets on Monday to begin the last session of its third and historic parliamentary year.
Amid the advent of a chilly spring in the capital, sparks are expected to fly over hot questions ranging from Pakistan`s new tensions with a crucial ally like the United States over the arrest of a US official for alleged murder to a predicted standoff with the opposition over issues of governance and legislation.
And there could be some manifestation of anger from some members of the ruling Pakistan People`s Party feeling disgruntled for not being in the 22-strong first batch of the cabinet named on Feb 11.
While there is no word about when a second batch will come, the present lot could seem stretched against a likely opposition bombardment, particularly if the ministers don`t shed the tendency of absenteeism seen in many previous sessions.
Opposition lawmakers are likely to use the session`s first sitting, which is due to start at 5pm, to question the government`s handling of the spat with the United States over the unresolved issue of diplomatic immunity Washington wants for its Lahore consulate-general official Raymond Davis, who is facing murder charges for shooting to death two young Pakistani motorcylists who he says followed his car to attack or rob him on a street in the Punjab province capital.
The government could avoid speaking about the merits of the case by using the usual argument of impropriety of delving into a matter that is before a court of law, but it will be difficult not to inform the house about contacts made between Islamabad and Washington to ease tensions.
There is bound to be a lot of focus on the future conduct of former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qurehi, who seems to have lost his office in the new cabinet because of what the PPP leadership thought were unguarded remarks about the case that gave a god-send ammunition to the government`s critics and provoked criticism from within the party.
And it will be within the first three days of this session that the PPP must reach an agreement with the Pakistan Muslim League-N over a proposed 10-point reform agenda for the remaining two years of the present PPP-led coalition government`s tenure or face the prospect of the main opposition party turning its perceived friendliness to hostility.
Parliamentary negotiators of both sides have reported progress in their talks so far on the economic-cum-political agenda, with the PML-N mainly calling for expenditure-reduction measures, restructuring of some giant loss-making public sector enterprises and an overall price control, with the government insisting on its planned reforms of the general sales tax. A progress review by the experts of the two sides is expected on Feb 22.
If there is no agreement by Feb 23 to meet a 45-day deadline set by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, the remainder of the likely 12-day session could see a lot of political sabre-rattling before the National Assembly ends its third parliamentary year, which became historic thanks to the passage the landmark Eighteenth and Nineteenth constitution amendments.
As a consequence, there could be a political standoff also in the country`s most populous Punjab province if the PML-N carries out its threat to oust the PPP from the provincial coalition government, and risk its own life becoming hard with the PPP — the second largest party in the provincial assembly – joining forces with opposition PML-Q.
On the legislative side, the two sides must also reach an agreement on the planned new accountability law, which is part of the reform agenda.
——–Agencies