Pakistani expatriates in the Kingdom have shown their concern over the present turbulent situation in their country and are willing to contribute towards the ‘Speaker's relief Fund', initiated by the Ministers of National Assembly (MNA) and the general public in Pakistan. The funds will be used for aiding the displaced people of Bajaur and Muhmand Agency in Pakistan. “We want to help our brethren in Bajaur Agency in this month of Ramadan. Whenever our Pakistani brothers and sisters need us, we will be beside them,” said Atiq-ur-Rehman, member of Muhibaan-e-Pakistan community in Jeddah. “The Speaker's move should be welcomed and supported with complete unity and faith, just like we did earlier, at the time of an earth quake, by raising huge funds,” he said. The earthquake, which flattened mountain villages in Pakistan, India and Kashmir on October 8, 2005, is a violent reminder for many expatriates in the Kingdom. The devastating upheaval had also struck in the month of Ramadan and major contributions were pledged by expatriates for the President's Relief Fund. A bank account No. 1781-9 has been opened in the Allied Bank Ltd in the Parliament House for the purpose. Speaker of National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, Chief Whip Syed Khurshid Shah and MNA Riaz Hussain Pirzada have been designated to operate the account. All the MNAs will donate a month's salary towards the fund. Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, Admiral (retd) Shahid Karimullah said that he will start raising funds in the Kingdom if he receives instructions from the foreign office in Pakistan, like in 2005 for the President's relief fund. “The funds can be collected when I shall receive the account number of the Speaker's Relief Fund officially,” he said. “Political parties have donated funds irrespective of their political conflicts and differences,” said Tajammul Hussain, a Pakistani technical engineer. “We are worried about the circumstances; the coalition was destined to break due to their ideological differences,” he said. Despite a split in alliance, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) have announced donations for the fund established by the PPP-led speaker. The Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Amir Haider Khan Hoti contributed Rs150 million and the chairman of Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) donated Rs1 million. About 50,000 families comprising of 250,000 to 300,000 people have been displaced in Bajaur. The government is seeking support from non-governmental organizations (NGO) for relief operations and rehabilitation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bajaur Agency. The PPP and PML-N coalition split as a consequence of President Musharraf's resignation. “Some supporters of the ruling coalition distributed sweets to show their happiness; they were embarrassed and tongue-tied when their leaders quitted,” said Sadia Kalim, manager and principal of Al-Hikmah International Schools. Seconding Sadia's thoughts, Rehman said that it is a sink or swim situation for both the parties. “The breakup of coalition is not a good sign for the future democracy of Pakistan; people will not forgive them if they fail to deliver, as they do not have any excuses now,” he said referring to Musharraf's resignation. Hussain said the vested interest of Nawaz Sharif to enhance his party's position in the province of Punjab was the chief reason of the split. “He used the judges' issue for gaining popularity and sympathy of the people. The coalition would have never crashed if his intensions were honest,” he said. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari expressed sadness over PML-N's decision to break with the ruling coalition. He said “I apologize to Nawaz Sharif if he feels we have made any mistake.” However, Danish Abdul-Rab of Al-Harthy group believes that Zardari should hold all parties together to benefit the country. “Two swords cannot be fitted in one case. The nation is disappointed from the politics of vested interests and only time will prove who is fooling around with our nation,” he said. Bilal Ahmed Shiekh, an administrative manager feels that the issue of ex-chief justice Iftikhar Choudhry has done great damage to the country. “In reality, people do not care about the restoration of judges, they are more concerned about their basic needs and security,” he said. “All parties should work hand-in-hand to endeavor the country's economy on the right track,” he added. Zardari recently stated that all judges would be restored and that there were no two opinions about the matter. However, the PPP-led government which enjoyed political support from many quarters in removing the president, may lose most of it, on reneging on its promise of reinstating judges. Skeptics believe that the reinstatement of the deposed Chief Justice may revoke the national conciliation ordinance (NRO), thus opening up a ‘Pandora's box' of Zardari's corruption cases. Some say that Sharif fears the sitting judiciary owing to his pending election case. In spite of this, many believe that Zardari is the most deserving nominee to the presidential office. “PPP is the largest political party representing every corner of Pakistan. Zardari has brilliantly handled the situation after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and he has a will to take all political parties together to bring Pakistan out of the present crises,” Rehman said. “He should be given a chance to mend his tarnished image and lead the country with vigor,” he added. Recently, the Swiss judicial authorities closed a money-laundering case against Zardari and released $60 million frozen in Swiss accounts over the past decade. Many of Zardari's foes have raised questions over his mental health referring to doctors who treated him last year. __
