August 24, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Saani 14, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The leaders of Grand National Alliance will meet here on Monday to finalize the list of candidates to be fielded jointly by the alliance component parties in October elections.

Former president and head of National Alliance (NA) Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari on Friday held a meeting of NA component parties to finalize the list of its candidates which would be presented before the Pakistan Muslim League (QA) group to evolve a seat-to-seat adjustment.

Mr Leghari after a meeting of the heads of NA component parties talked to Muslim League (QA) President Mian Azhar and fixed a date for the meeting of GNA leaders to give final shape to seat-to-seat adjustment.

Information secretary of NA Mehmood Hashmi said that the alliance component parties completed this crucial stage very smoothly and without any much dispute.

The meeting also concluded that the last date for the submission of nomination forms should be extended to Aug 28, in view of the difficulties being faced by the candidates particularly of far flung areas to complete these forms.

Former prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi after the meeting wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Irshad Hassan Khan asking him to extend the last date for submitting the nomination papers by two days.

Mr Hashmi refused to give the number of candidates to be fielded by alliance. The list finalized would be discussed with Muslim League (QA) and only then the names of candidates would be made public, he added.