In the fast changing political scenario, Nawaz Sharif is also said to have become agreeable to the gradual withdrawal of powers from President Zardari instead of the past demand of stripping him of all the powers like appointments of judges, service chiefs etc in one-go, Klasra writes.

PPP and Zardari’s vulnerability emanating from their botched attempts to steamroll the NRO through the parliament, that led MQM to suddenly distance itself from the party in power, seem to have made Nawaz, according to the article, realize it was time to demand his pund of flesh in exchange for additional liefline so desparately neded by the PPP government.

Citing sources Klasra observes that Nawaz smartly exploited the looming dangers to the PPP rule during his last week talks at the PM House as he convinced a rather vulnerable Gilani into agreeing to table three major changes (including the three-time-restriction clause) in the 17th Amendment in parliament, on which there is an apparent consensus amongst all parliamentary political parties.

The sources said both sides reached an understanding that the three important amendments, which needed to be brought before parliament on an emergent priority basis, were removal of the third-time-bar condition, abolition of the president’s powers to dismiss parliament and changes in the accountability laws.

Nawaz was said to have proposed to bring about these much trumpeted changes on a fast track basis arguing that there was no harm in doing them “phase-wise”, borrowing Gilani’s phrase, as long they were passed in quick succession in order to break the deadlock over the 17th Amendment and “stabilise” the uncertain political situation.

The sources said that in a major development, a small committee has also been constituted to be jointly monitored both by Prime Minister Gilani and Nawaz Sharif in a desperate bid to navigate these three amendments ahead of the remaining and more contentious clauses. Nawaz was said to have showed flexibility in these talks to get the prime minister to agree to ensuring the three-time-ban clause removed well before any future elections, including the much-talked-about mid-term polls though no one mentioned this ugly word in their parleys.

Prime Minister Gilani also managed to convince Nawaz Sharif into agreeing that the proposed 14 year-jail term for politicians under the new proposed accountability laws was too harsh and needed to be rationalised. Of late, PML-N members had been blasting the government in parliament for what they described as criminal softening of the accountability laws and making it too mild to stop politicians from indulging in corrupt practices. The new proposed accountability law is to replace the NAB Ordinance 1999.

Ostensibly, the two leaders had met to review the soon-to-be announced Balochistan package as a confidence building measure before starting serious negotiations with the Baloch separatists. But, sources believe that during these talks, both Gilani and Nawaz found ample time to discuss the fate of the 17th Amendment. Nawaz was particularly keen to develop an understanding that this was the right time to get something concrete from the vulnerable PPP government, aware that if he did not exploit the circumstances then he would be going back emptyhanded. That was why, sources said, Nawaz proposed that if the complete package of reforms could not be tabled soon in the house due to contentious clauses, then at least those amendments on which everybody had a consensus should be first sent to parliament.

Nawaz Sharif’s close circles believe that without the removal of third time prime minister restriction, it would be useless to make any demand for the mid-term elections, as this clause might confuse the voters once they would come to know that the PML-N leader could not be the prime minister.

Likewise, Nawaz was said to be equally disturbed because he did not know what would be the shape of the new future parliament, if mid-term or even general elections were held in the country earlier than scheduled. Sources said Nawaz, unsure of the long-term survival of the incumbent ruling dispensation, wanted this parliament to undo this clause because he knows that even in the event of any early elections and his party wining the polls, he would not control two-third majority in the next parliament to ensure his own return to the prime minister’s residence.