P.P.P.-A.L. DIRECT TALKS VITAL
Mr. Z. A. Bhutto's Press conference in
Mr. Z. A.
Bhutto, Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, accompanied by Mr. J. A. Rahim
and Mr. Mustafa Khar, met President A. M. Yahya Khan at the President's House
here this morning.
Lt.-Gen. S.G.M. Peerzada, Principal Staff Officer to
the President, was also present at the meeting which continued for about 45
minutes.
Later, Mr. Bhutto told the newsmen that the
constitutional experts of his party would meet the President's advisers this
afternoon. The PPP advisers were to meet the President's advisers this morning,
but the meeting was postponed following the " new development " that
took place after yesterday's meeting between the advisers of the President and
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He said, the new development which had been
communicated to him necessitated his meeting with the President and Lt.-Gen.
Peerzada.
When asked whether the negotiations had bogged down,
Mr. Bhutto said that they had not bogged down. " We are not creating any
difficulty ", he added.
The PPP Chairman told a correspondent that his Party
wanted transfer of power both at the Centre and the provinces simultaneously.
On the question of autonomy, Mr. Bhutto said that
the quantum of autonomy sought by the Awami League was some thing which could
be termed as "more than autonomy ". It was bordering on sovereignty,
he added.
All the four
provinces in
Mr. Bhutto said that they were prepared to come as
close to six points as possible except foreign aid and foreign trade. " We
wanted full discussions on how these could be handled in an undeveloped country
divided by over one thousand miles within the framework of one
One Unit
Mr. Bhutto made it clear that under no circumstance
his Party was for restoration of One Unit, in one form or the other in
The PPP chief said that if some agreement was
reached it should be taken to the National Assembly which could pass a
resolution giving the agreement a stamp of constitutional legality. The
National Assembly, he said, could improve upon the agreement.
Mr. Bhutto referred to the meetings of advisers of
President Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman yesterday and said that some
" developments ", had taken place which necessitated his meeting with
the President and Lt.-Gen. S.G.M. Peerzada today.
He said he had sent some of his party members to
He recalled his meeting with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
and said that it was fruitful.
When asked why the talks were being "dragged
on," the Chairman of the People's Party said that they had only one
meeting with the President's advisers. " It was not a simple matter. We
want to end the crisis."
Mr. Bhutto told a correspondent that the future
Constitution of the country must be based on federal structure in which all
provinces must have rightful share of autonomy.
He said that one of the 11 demands of students was
for a zonal federation for
To another question the Chairman of the People's
Party said that if settlement was reached within a day or two he would stay on
in
Mr. Bhutto referred to the postponement of the
National Assembly session earlier and said the Awami League had sought
postponement this time " and we did not object to it ".
He also told a questioner that he had fewer meetings
with the President as against the series of meeting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had
with him.
Mr. Bhutto said reciprocity from both sides must
take place. Negotiations, he said, had become more complicated because these
were not taking place and unfortunately the position looked uncertain.
Awami League Formula
The Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party said
that he did not have any objection to the formula of broad based understanding
that the Awami League chief, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had presented to the
President for the transfer of power to the representatives of the people.
The PPP chief, who was talking to newsmen on his
return from the President's House after his fourth round of talks with the Head
of the State, said that direct negotiations between the Awami League and the
Pakistan People's Party were essential for breaking the present stalemate. It
was for this reason that he had sent a telegram to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The
request was not heeded to and the Awami League had contented itself with an
indirect dialogue through the office of the President. He, however, reiterated
that he would be more than willing to meet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman even at this
stage to work out a formula and to narrow down the differences.
On a question from a correspondent, the PPP chief
said that while he supported in principle the four-point pre-conditions of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his Party was trying to " come close to the six
points ". His Party was indeed keen to reach a settlement but " reciprocity
on both sides must take place”.
* * * *
He believed that since the Awami League had
concluded its discussions with the President and his advisers, the PPP must
continue their bit now. Therefore, it was not necessary that these discussions
should be held at
The PPP chief maintained that things could have been
expedited to a great extent. About some points that remained to be discussed
between the two parties, the PPP Chairman said that the Awami League had
suggested to the President for the transfer of power to the provinces and not
at the Central level for the interim period of constitution-making. The PPP
would like the powers transferred at both the levels, he maintained. Nor would
he like to dismiss it as a purely interim arrangement as " interim
arrangements become permanent sometimes ".
(THE PAKISTAN TIMES, Lahore-March 26, 1971)
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