Owais Mughal
All major media outlets are reporting that Pakistan’s two main opposition parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), have announced to form the new government together. News reports also suggest this understanding has been reached at both center as well as provincial level.
The photo below shows Asif Ali Zardari shaking hands with Nawaz Sharif at a press conference after their meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008.
!["Zardari]("/images/Elections-Pakistan/haath.jpg" "\"Zardari")
According to the Daily News:
Nawaz Sharif maintained that there is no difference in the two parties on the restoration of the deposed judges. “We accept the mandate of PPP with an open heart and wish that PPP complete its five year term,†he said, adding, “struggle for restoration of judiciary will continue and CoD will also be followed.†PPP Co-Chairman, Asif Zardari said PPP and PML-N have decided to work together for democracy. However, he said, some of the matter are yet to be decided by the parties. Ali Zardari said that both the leaders have decided to stay united in the parliament. Nawaz Sharif said, ‘We fought against the dictatorship and will keep doing so."
According to a Daily Dawn update of 23:38 hours PST
Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday his party would form a coalition government with the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto after they won crucial elections. “We have agreed on a common agenda. We will work together to form the government in the centre and in the provinces,†Sharif told a joint news conference with Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari. “We will ensure that you complete a full five years’ term,†said Sharif, addressing Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
What About the Judges?
According to Associated Press feed of 11:35 hours USA CST:
Sharif said the two parties had agreed in principle on restoration of judges purged by Musharraf when he declared emergency rule late last year — an issue that many see as a possible source of discord between the parties. "In principle there’s no disagreement on restoration of the judiciary. We will work on the modalities in parliament," said Sharif, who has previously demanded the immediate reinstatement of the detained ex-Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
What Do You Think?
Our question to readers is; What do you think? Is this a good move, a bad move, a hasty move or were there any alternatives that got over looked. We would like to hear from you.
References:
1. The Daily Dawn Pakistan update here
2. CNN story here
3. Associated Press story here
4. The Daily News Pakistan update here
5. The Daily Jang Pakistan update here
6. BBC story here
Photo Credits: Associated Press
An art form with an engine.(Features)
Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) January 7, 2011 Byline: EDWARD STEPHENS AS A typically British marque with strong associations with James Bond perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised at the voice giving me directions from the satellite navigation system on this Aston Martin.
Unlike the voices on every other sat nav system I have ever used this one was distinctly upper crust with decidedly clipped vowels.
But if a car has a price tag approaching pounds 150,000 I suppose it deserves to have a voice that sounds that little bit superior. here aston martin rapide
But it’s not just the sat nav that’s special on the Aston Martin Rapide. This homegrown car is a product which makes you proud to be British.
Built at the company’s new headquarters at Gaydon in Warwickshire, the Rapide is the first four-door, four-seater production car that the company best known for its two-door sports cars has built.
James Bond hasn’t been directly associated with this particular model, but I’ve no doubt he would like to be.
The nice thing about the Rapide is that while it will take four people in comfort it’s equally as sleek as the two-seater Astons. Okay it’s longer but from the front you would be hard pressed to tell it was designed for the family.
It’s pure elegance on wheels. An art form with an engine. The Rapide is certainly a car that you buy with the heart as much as the head.
Inside too the Rapide is not like any conventional four-seater.
Take a look in the rear and you will find two very distinctive, individual leather seats – to match the front sports seats – each in their own sub-divided section of the cabin. It’s just like being in the first class section of an aircraft.
From the driver’s seat the outlook is also different. The car has a six-speed automatic gearbox but there is no gearshift. To put it into drive, park, reverse or neutral you simply push one of the appropriately marked buttons on the dashboard. To start the car you ease the personalised Aston Martin key fob, with its winged badge set in perspex, into a slot in the dashboard and the giant 6.0-litre V12 roars into life. And I do mean roars. site aston martin rapide
That split second of starting before the engine settles down makes everyone within earshot – which covers some distance – look round in awe.
Pull away and while the Rapide is very civilised there is that distinct feeling of it wanting to go. On the road, however, it’s perfectly happy to crawl along in the heaviest of traffic, unlike some supercars.
The automatic gearchanges are seamless, giving superbly smooth motoring. But for real action you can change gear using the paddles on each side of the steering wheel or just push the sport button on the dashboard – and prepare for a thrill.
The sport button gives you sharper accelerator response, ensures the car holds onto each gear longer and gives you an awesome sound from the twin exhausts.
Combine its use with firming up the suspension – again via a dashboard button – and you have a real tour de force.
The acceleration is breathtaking, the road holding sublime and the enjoyment explosion is off the Richter scale.
They don’t make a slow Aston Martin so anyone who buys one is looking for life in the fast lane. And four seaters don’t come much faster than the Rapide. It’s a car which is well named.
FAST FACTS Aston Martin Rapide PRICE: pounds 144,950 MECHANICAL: 470bhp, 5,935cc, 12cyl petrol engine driving rear wheels via 6-speed automatic gearbox MAX SPEED: 188mph 0-62MPH: 5.2 seconds COMBINED MPG: 19 INSURANCE GROUP: 20 C02 EMISSIONS: 355g/km BIK RATING: 35% WARRANTY: 3yrs/ unlimited mileage CAPTION(S):
The Aston Martin Rapide is pure elegance on wheels and is certainly a car that you buy with the heart as much as the head
This is a marriage of convenience. There is no love lost between them. They have united against a common adversary. In my opinion this is not going to last long.
The successful parties have made numerous promises to the people which they will not be able to fulfill. Can they possibly bring the oil prices down? Can they stop the smuggling of wheat from the country? Can they afford an independent judiciary?
This is not going to last long. Just wait and see.
Intersting article in today’s Daily Times:
http://tinyurl.com/37boqx
Let this be a warning to all democratic people of Pakistan. The elected government will not last more than three months and you will have presidential rule to rebuild democracy. There is no way Musharraf is going to let power go. It is not going to be a pretty picture. Learn to read between the lines and hear the whispers from afar. Good luck.
Its good for political forces to join hands. And strengthen the judiciary to restore the rule of law. See politicians are the same all over. But here it is in their interest to strengthen democracy. This converges with the peoples