September 6, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-us-Saani27,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: The Grand National Alliance, a loose grouping of the five-party National Alliance and the PML(Q), appears to be a non-starter due to the differences over seat adjustments, an insider told Dawn on Thursday.

A senior PML(Q) leader said how could his party surrender 100 odd National Assembly seats demanded by the National Alliance in Punjab alone.

Mohammad Ali Durrani, secretary-general of the National Alliance and Millat Party, told this reporter that the alliance had worked out seat adjustments with the PML(Q) and other parties in Sindh and Balochistan and talks were progressing well over for Punjab seats. He denied that the alliance had demanded a higher number of seats in Punjab and said “our approach in this regard is very pragmatic”.

When his comments were sought on a PML(Q) leader’s statement that the seat adjustments with the alliance might not be completed, Mr Durrani said: “We believe that reaching consensus over candidates is more favourable for them (PML-Q). If they ignored its importance, they will suffer more than what we will, for if our candidates lose, theirs will also not succeed”.

It is recalled that twice a meeting of the heads of the GNA’s component parties held in Islamabad last week had failed to move forward on the issue.

The tussle for NA-100 (Wazirabad) constituency between Ghulam Sarwar Cheema and Hamid Nasir Chattha seems to have widened the rift between the two sides.