{"id":26323,"date":"2023-11-19T22:58:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T22:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/envoys-discuss-poll-concerns-in-meetings-with-political-bigwigs\/"},"modified":"2023-11-19T22:58:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T22:58:05","slug":"envoys-discuss-poll-concerns-in-meetings-with-political-bigwigs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/envoys-discuss-poll-concerns-in-meetings-with-political-bigwigs\/","title":{"rendered":"Envoys discuss \u2018poll concerns\u2019 in meetings with political bigwigs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p><strong>\u2022 US ambassador Blome calls on Nawaz and Tareen in Lahore, Gilani in Multan<br \/>\u2022 UK\u2019s Marriott meets Zardari in Karachi to gauge PPP\u2019s worries over elections<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>KARACHI \/ LAHORE: In a flurry of meetings on Saturday, the envoys of the United King\u00addom and the United States have called on leaders of various political parties, including the PPP and PML-N, ostensibly to seek their input about the prospects for polls and their concerns about electioneering.<\/p>\n<p>With the date proposed for the general elections just two months away, US envoy Donald Blome spent a busy day in Pun\u00adjab: after a meeting with PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani and a host of political leaders at a gathering in Multan, he headed to Lahore to meet former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party leader Jahangir Khan Tareen.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott met PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House in Karachi days after a similar meeting with Mr Sharif in Lahore. A party statement issued after the meeting said that Mr Zardari and Ms Marriott, accompanied by their aides, held a detailed discussion on a \u201crange of issues\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The PPP leader also emphasised the need for Bri\u00adtain\u2019s role in bringing an end to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1790617\/israeli-airstrikes-bring-more-death-to-gaza-west-bank\">Israeli aggression in Gaza<\/a>. The meeting, which lasted over an hour, was also attended by PPP\u2019s Saleem Mandviwalla and former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain.<\/p>\n<p>Sources privy to details of the discussion claimed that the British envoy was keen to gauge the PPP\u2019s confidence about the prospects of polls on Feb 8. Another point of interest for the foreign delegates, they said, was to know the party\u2019s strategy for the upcoming national elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Zardari did not express any doubt about the Feb 8 polls because he believes that there is no other option left to run the country and the state affairs,\u201d said a party leader.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe PPP has made it almost public that it would not go for any formal or major alliance \u2026 but seat adjustment and deals with other contestants can be considered depending on the position of [political] parties in different constituencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1790437\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The PPP leader, however, shared his party\u2019s concerns with the UK diplomat about level playing field in the run-up to polls. \u201cI mean, he conveyed his feelings and thoughts within the party ranks about how one party [PML-N] is already seen coming into power months before the polls. The indicators and sentiments do not support the claims of level playing field,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blome-Gilani meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Similar concerns were raised by the PPP\u2019s Gliani in his meeting with the US envoy in Multan, who discussed the political landscape of south Punjab with respect to the upcoming polls.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Gilani, who is the parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate, said a detailed discussion about the political landscape of South Punjab in the election 2024 was held.<\/p>\n<p>The two sides expressed a desire to enhance bilateral ties between the US and Pakistan and also discussed Pakistan\u2019s commitment to regional peace and economic ties.<\/p>\n<p>The US ambassador\u2019s meeting with political players is seen as a \u2018normal practice\u2019 of envoys to engage with stakeholders ahead of the general elections to hear their concerns regarding the impartiality of the polls.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the meeting, IPP Information Secretary Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told <em>Dawn<\/em> that the US wanted a \u201cpeaceful and stable\u201d Pakistan for stability in the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe issue of level playing field also came up during the discussion with Mr Blome. We told the envoy that every party asserts itself to level out the field instead of complaining about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meeting with Nawaz<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In his meeting with the US envoy, Nawaz Sharif shared his views on the political and economic situation, particularly in the context of his party\u2019s preparations for the upcoming elections, said a statement issued by the PML-N.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sharif expressed confidence that the people of Pakistan would once again repose their trust in PML-N to lead the country out of the myriad problems confronting it today. \u201cBoth leaders acknowledged the importance of steadfast and sturdy partnership between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They recognised the importance of exploring avenues to boost cooperation and building on the successful outcomes that underpin the robust US-Pakistan bilateral relationship,\u201c it said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sharif expressed concern at the plight of innocent Palestinians who were being mercilessly killed by the indiscriminate Israeli bombardment and imposition of siege around Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>He called for an immediate end to hostilities and urgent provision of humanitarian and medical assistance to the Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p>The US embassy, after Ambassador Blome\u2019s meetings, said on Saturday that \u201cin the course of his engagements with a broad range of Pakistani political actors,\u201d the ambassador met in Multan with representatives of various political parties at a gathering hosted by former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, and in Lahore with former premier Nawaz Sharif and IPP founder Jahangir Khan Tareen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey discussed the importance of free, fair elections and the right of the Pakistani people to choose their future leaders. They also discussed the strengths of the US-Pakistan trade and investment relationship and the development of the US-Pakistan \u2018Green Alliance\u2019 framework,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Mr Blome was in the news after he called on Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja to reaffirm the US support for free elections conducted \u201cunder the law and Constitution\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the PTI also issued a strongly worded statement on the political meetings, terming the latest huddle a clear interference in Pakistan\u2019s internal affairs.<\/p>\n<p><em>Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2022 US ambassador Blome calls on Nawaz and Tareen in Lahore, Gilani in Multan\u2022 UK\u2019s Marriott meets Zardari in Karachi to gauge PPP\u2019s worries over elections KARACHI \/ LAHORE: In a flurry of meetings on Saturday, the envoys of the United King\u00addom and the United States have called on leaders of various political parties, including [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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