February 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 28, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: Pakistan Muslim League (QA) has rejected as absurd the four names proposed for heading the unified PML, and said unification or no unification Mian Azhar will not be replaced by anyone else.

A spokesman for the party, Azim Chaudhri, told Dawn that it would be a foolish thing to give any weight to parties with less than a couple of former MNAs in their ranks and offer them a choice to select a party head.

Explaining his viewpoint, he said politicians like Mohammad Ali Khan and Elahi Bakhsh Soomro were too old to take over the party presidentship. As far as Pir Pagara was concerned he did not qualify the democratic requirement of becoming the head of the party, he said.

He said while the PML(QA) enjoyed the support of 108 former MNAs and 35 former senators the PML(Chattha) had only five. Out of these senators, he claimed, Talib Nakai was with the PML(QA), Akhtar Varyo was behind the bars and Akhtar Chaudhri was absconding. Sardar Asif Ahmed Ali and Hamid Naser Chattha had been defeated by the PML(QA), he claimed.

“Still we are ready to reach an understanding with PML(Chattha) on the basis of seats,” said the spokesman, adding the decision of not to talk with Pir Pagara was final.

In reply to a question about the party’s credentials as pro-Establishment he said: “Though we do not wish to confront the government, it did not mean we are a dummy. We are a democratic party which is readying for next polls from a strong position.”

Reacting to a proposed amendment to the constitution banning any individual to become a prime minister for the third time, the PML leader said: “We have in our constitution barred anyone from contesting any party post for the third time as it is the fittest democratic norm all over the world.”

He claimed that the party was in contact with many leading figures of the PML-N and would give a big surprise in a few days. In reply to a question, he rejected the idea that the PML(N) had any votebank and claimed that the Nawaz group had been winning on anti-Bhutto votes.