Constitutional reforms, NWFP renaming separate issues: Shujaat Hussain

ISLAMABAD - PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Monday said that the constitutional reforms were an initiative being taken in the national interest and it should not be clubbed with the renaming of the NWFP.
He expressed these views while addressing a press briefing after the party’s special meeting held here on Monday to discuss the renaming row of NWFP. He said that the party had formed a special committee to finalise its recommendations for short-listing a consensus name for the province, saying that the party’s NWFP President Amir Muqam would head the committee.
He said that initially there was a demand to repeal the controversial clauses of the 17th Amendment from the Constitution, which was later deferred and many other issues were clubbed together with the issue of 17th Amendment. He argued that the renaming was a serious issue and needed consensus view from all political parties.
PML -Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that the special committee would finalise its recommendations within next few days and it would not take too long to reach a conclusion.
He made it clear that his party would not accept any such name like Pakhtoonistan, Afghania or Pakhtoonkhwa as new name for the NWFP. He said that it was a sensitive issue, which was not even raised in 1973 on the eve of formation of the country’s Constitution. However, he added, since this issue is raised, there is a need to seek proposals from all sections of the society.
He said that his party had majority MPAs in NWFP Assembly, which were even more than PML-N so it represented the voice of people of NWFP.
Amir Muqam said his party had to consider the views and aspirations of the people of Hazara, Chiteral, Malakand, and other parts of the province and the renaming issue was not limited to ANP and PML-N only. He said that due to the sensitivity of the issue, his party would take all people on board and a consensus view would be adopted by the special committee.